Stimulus Might Be Passed This Weekend

The Senate Democrats reached an agreement with a handful of their Republican collegues Friday night about the economic stimulus package. There might be a vote on Saturday or even Sunday. The stimulus is expected to be $827 billion. 

The funds for renewables from the stimulus package are needed for the renewable energy sector. Banks are not lending to solar and wind projects, which has slowed down demand. The factories that build wind and solar parts announced layoffs recently. Trade groups are projecting a 30 to 50 percent decline in installing new equipment.

''I thought if there was any industry that was bulletproof, it was that industry,'' said Rich Mattern, the mayor of West Fargo, North Dakota, where DMI Industries of Fargo operated a wind turbine towers plant.

''It's absolutely frozen,'' said Craig Mataczynski, president of Renewable Energy Systems Americas, a wind developer. 

The wind and solar energy sectors will not have to wait very long to receive funds. The Energy Department said it will speed up stimulus spending on renewable energy, with the half marked for it, $35-40 billion, spent in a year. The Energy Department will begin extending loan guarentees within six month after the stimulusis is signed into law.

"The secretary is committed to streamlining the process and eliminating unnecessary paperwork so that we can make these important investments that create jobs as quickly as possible," said Energy Department spokesman Dan Leistikow.