Restore American cities with renewable energy tax credits (Rep. Brian Higgins)

Our cities form the backbone of our economy and the foundation of our international strength and competitiveness.  Yet older, historically-manufacturing-based cities across America are suffering.  Not only should we be reinvesting in and rehabilitating these cities, but we should give them the tools they need to leverage their greatest assets – a ready infrastructure and a workforce trained in manufacturing – into attracting investment in the 21st century version of the steel mill – the manufacture of green energy equipment such as solar panels and windmills.

America is falling far behind Europe and Asia in attracting alternative energy manufacturing. This is in large part because other countries have adopted more aggressive policies to encourage their own domestic demand for these energy technologies.  We need to adopt smarter incentives too, to create the demand that will encourage manufacturers to locate in the U.S.  But we should also be telling these manufacturers that when you do locate in America, you should put your factory in one of our cities that most need the investment and are also best equipped to get the job done.

In 2006 the Brookings Institution produced a study entitled “Revitalizing Weak Market Cities in the U.S.” which identified a number of cities that are suffering from stagnant economies.  Taking cue from that study, we have an opportunity to utilize and restore our country’s historic cities like my own hometown of Buffalo that have the built-in infrastructure and workforce to accommodate today’s new green manufacturing companies that would make this enterprise a success.

Last week, I introduced the Green Energy Investment Zone Act which aims to accomplish just that by providing an added incentive for companies to bring their business and create jobs in communities such as Buffalo that have been most hard hit by our unfortunate economic circumstances.

By enhancing renewable energy tax credits for economically distressed cities and building upon the existing infrastructure, skilled workforces, and low costs of living in historic cities, this legislation would create green jobs and new investment in renewable energy—two critical components in rebuilding our economy.

The demand for green energy technology and the promise of it as a job creation and economic development strategy is clear.  Let’s seize this opportunity to finally usher in the new “Green Age” by starting with the shovel ready cities that can quickly turn the economy around.  Simply put, our older industrial cities and country are too big to let this opportunity fail.