Waiting for Other ($10M Solar) Shoe to Drop

Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), at a Hudson Valley solar energy summit he led in late October, announced he'd roped in another $2.25 million in Federal dollars for The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC). It's claimed that will spawn 100 jobs.

That brings the 2 1/2 year total of solar funds directed here by Hinchey to 20 mil — but wait, as they say on late-night TV, that's not all! "Additional funding to be announced in the coming weeks," says our man of the House, "will increase that figure to nearly $30 million."

Sounds good. The first two-and-a-quarter million has been passed by both the House and Senate, so that's a done deal. But that other $10 million that he says is now on its way to our area through TSEC is big news. In fact, almost five times as big… (Okay, 4.4 times as big. Why be imprecise with a calculator right at hand?)

The summit brought together three dozen solar energy company executives, researchers, and government types to look at the challenge from all the required angles, review the progress and discuss the next steps. Hinchey also announced House passage of a bill that intends to spread Federal solar grants around the country, where formerly they'd been concentrated in the Southwest. "We've put the Hudson Valley on the map as one of the nation's leading hubs for solar energy research and development," Hinchey said.

$2.2 million grant aids solar effort
By William J. Kemble, Kingston Daily Freeman (10/20/09)

$2.25M in federal grants for solar consortium will help land 100 new jobs
Office of U.S. Rep. Hinchey

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