Renewable Manufacturing America Outreach Program
A Proposal of the Renewable Energy Policy Project, Environmental Law & Policy Center, Chambers for
Innovation and Clean Energy, and the International Economic Development Council
State of Current Federal Policy: Renewable energy is manufactured energy. Wind turbines and
photovoltaic modules are assembled from a series of component parts, creating huge opportunities for
job creation in manufacturing. Efforts to promote renewable energy must also help renew the domestic
manufacturing sector and support American job creation.
State and federal policies provide incentives to deploy renewable energy power plants but do much less
to expand domestic manufacturing of these technologies. Growth in renewable energy will not by itself
lead to more domestic manufacturing. New policies must be enacted to ensure that our investment in
clean technology creates American manufacturing jobs.
While there are many federal policies and programs encouraging renewable energy, economic
development, and job creation, there are few that specifically focus on renewable energy manufacturing.
We propose Renewable Manufacturing America (RMA) to address this need.
Renewable Manufacturing America: Created through a Presidential Executive Order, RMA will provide
technical assistance to Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development Agencies, Energy Offices, and
other stakeholders at the state and regional level. RMA is patterned after the successful Wind Powering
America program, a DOE project that convenes and supports local stakeholders into state Wind Working
Groups. The state groups identify local conditions and opportunities to promote wind power, and DOE
provides expert assistance to pursue them. Likewise, RMA will provide assistance to local stakeholders to
identify and develop local clean energy manufacturing.
