Obama wants $5 billion more for clean energy manufacturing

The administration has spent much of the week touting clean energy as a way to recovery, from both an economic and an environmental perspective.

The White House released a summary of how stimulus money is being applied to "green" the economy. On Tuesday, President Barack Obama toured a Home Depot to talk about how energy efficiency plays a role.

The clean campaign continued on Wednesday with senior administration officials telling reporters Obama will seek another $5 billion for the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit. Also known as 48c, it specifically funds wind, solar and other advanced clean energy manufacturing efforts. 

The $5 billion would be on top of the $2.3 billion Congress set aside in the stimulus package for the tax credit. The program has proved immensely popular; the requests for funding exceeds the funds, necessitating the need for the additional $5 billion.

The expansion of 48c is the centerpiece of a new framework the administration is touting to revitalize the manufacturing sector as a whole.

One theme of the policy effort is how to leverage public money to “entice” more private investment. A senior administration official said the $5 billion in public funds could lead to another $15 billion in private investment, creating “tens of thousands of jobs.”

Companies remain skittish about investing since the financial crisis last year that set the world economy in a tumble, the official said. The public money is an inducement to private investment because getting some requires companies have “some skin in the game,” he said.

Some lawmakers have already expressed their support for the idea.