Cantwell talks energy at REC

MOSES LAKE — With supportive words and mention of a possible tax credit, Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., complimented REC Silicon’s creation of green jobs during her tour of the Moses Lake plant Thursday.

After the tour, she called the jobs being added “cutting edge” and said “they’re exactly what the country needs,” during the economic downturn.

Before the tour, she told the group of Moses Lake, Grant County and REC officials how an energy policy is a key strategy for “us in moving forward.”

“Energy is a $6 trillion market,” she said. “The mother of all markets.”

Cantwell spoke of a production tax credit associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2008, which added stimulus funds for manufacturing in February.

The act allows for up to $2.3 billion for domestic clean energy manufacturers nationwide.

REC could use the credit to help with the building of its facility in Moses Lake, according to her office.

She also spoke about an Energy Bill that will probably be on the Senate floor when legislators return to Washington, D.C. in the summer, she said.

The Energy Bill includes a nationwide renewable energy standard of 15 percent for electricity, meaning the country would have to use renewable energy to meet that percentage.

“Some believe it will create further demand of these technologies,” she said.

Included in the bill is a section making low interest loans available for projects helping an area’s jurisdictions meet electricity standards, she said.

The effort isn’t unlike what was done with the Bonneville Power Administration and public power, Cantwell commented.

REC Vice President Tor Hartmann gave a presentation to the group about the facility and its expansion work involving Plants 3 and 4, which are the company’s new silane gas plants.

Kent Stephens, of REC, provided the history of the company’s silicon division.

Silane gas produced at the plant is used to make computer parts, solar cells and LCD displays.

Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter said REC added a lot to the county. She mentioned the $1.7 billion in new construction added to the tax rolls for the county.

Moses Lake City Manager Joseph Gavinski said the company’s jobs create the bedrock for an economy like Moses Lake’s.

REC’s jobs are better-paying, industrially-waged, family-waged jobs, he said.

Terry Brewer, executive director of the Grant County Economic Development Council, said REC’s expansion is a “very important project in our community.

“These are good jobs in my opinion and industrial sector jobs are important to our community,” Brewer said.

For 500 jobs at REC, 1,130 jobs are indirectly created within the community, he added.

REC currently employs 438 people and expects to add 60 positions by 2009’s end.

During an interview with the Columbia Basin Herald, Cantwell answered questions about the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (also known as the Cap and Trade Bill), which passed the House this week.

The bill’s intent is to “create clean energy jobs, achieve energy independence, reduce global warming pollution and transition to a clean energy economy,” according to a bill description.

The House version needs to be simplified to focus on making sure ratepayers reap benefits, she said.

She disagreed with giving allowances to historic polluters.

“I think we’ve seen, as Europe does, you don’t make much progress with reducing CO2,” she said.

She also said there are a lot of issues with trading carbon credits and referenced Enron.

A provision in the bill, the Retrofit for Energy & Environmental Performance provision, involves homeowners improving homes to meet green energy standards set by the EPA, according to the Fayette County News in Georgia.

She said she couldn’t support such a bill if the home improvements made it cost prohibitive for people to sell their properties.