UPDATE: Obama Presses Alternative-Energy Agenda
19 März 2009 - 8:35PM
Dow Jones News
As his administration offered more aid to stabilize the ailing
U.S. auto sector, President Barack Obama touted a $2.4-billion
grant program to spark the development of plug-in hybrid cars.
"Show us that your idea or your company is best-suited to meet
America's challenges, and we will give you a chance to prove it,"
Obama told workers Thursday at the Edison Electric Vehicle
Technical Center in Pomona, Calif.
The president toured the facility as part of a two-day swing
through the Golden State designed to sell the public on his budget
plans and to spotlight early results of the $787-billion economic
recovery package. Later Thursday, Obama will participate in a town
hall meeting in Los Angeles and appear on NBC's "Tonight Show with
Jay Leno."
In Pomona, Obama's short address to workers focused on the
administration's effort to lessen the U.S.'s dependence on oil.
"We have a choice to make," Obama said. "We can remain one of
the world's leading importers of foreign oil, or we can make the
investments that will allow us to become the world's leading
exporter of renewable energy."
Obama's goal is to have one million plug-in hybrid vehicles on
the road by 2015.
The grants Obama unveiled Thursday will be funded by the
stimulus package. The majority of the grants - $1.5 billion - will
go to manufacturers producing advanced batteries used in plug-in
hybrids. Up to $500 million will go to makers of other components
for electric vehicles, such as motors, while $400 million will be
used to demonstrate plug-in hybrids and other electric
infrastructure concepts.
The White House expects the projects to create tens of thousands
of jobs.
The president's push for new vehicle technology comes as the
U.S. auto sector battles a severe sales slump prompted by the
recession. The Treasury Department is weighing requests by General
Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler LLC for more government loans.
Earlier, the Treasury launched a $5 billion program to assist
struggling auto-parts suppliers, many of which are on the verge of
bankruptcy.
Obama said his $3.6 trillion budget makes investments that will
move the U.S. toward energy independence, confront climate change
and create jobs. Republicans and some moderate Democrats have
balked at the scope of the president's plans, however, and
skepticism is likely to mount further if the Congressional Budget
Office's soon-to-be-released budget projections are as bleak as
anticipated.
Obama pledged to invest $15 billion dollars a year in wind and
solar power, biofuels, clean coal and American-made fuel-efficient
vehicles. He said the government is investing $11 billion to
upgrade the power grid so it can carry renewable energy.
California, a state hard hit by the recession, is on the cutting
edge of energy technology, Obama said, pointing to the "green
freeway" the state is planning with Washington and Oregon. If
completed, the freeway would feature rest stops that let drivers
charge their vehicles or refuel them with hydrogen or biofuels.
"These are challenging times, but we know we can do this," Obama
said. "It won't come without cost, nor will it be easy. We've got
240 million cars already on the road. We've got to upgrade the
world's largest energy grid while it's already in use. And other
countries aren't standing around and waiting for us; they are
forging ahead with their own bold energy plans."
-By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256;
henry.pulizzi@dowjones.com