If the Obama administration has its way, an additional $5 billion will be directed toward clean energy manufacturing.

This increase would more than triple funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Section 48C, which formulates provisions for the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit.

The news that the Obama administration was four-square behind the funding came from Vice President Joe Biden’s task force on the American middle class – a vanishing species – and was greeted warmly by solar energy enthusiasts, notably Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Section 48C, finalized on August 13, 2009, operates across a range of clean energy technologies, providing a 30 percent tax credit for investment in new or revamped manufacturing facilities that produce products used in clean energy technology.

Applicants receive credit based on the expected commercial viability of their factory production, and the value of their production compared to similar facilities. These rankings evaluate: potential job creation, the product’s likely reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, the level of technological innovation, the size and geographic location of the facility (whether in an economically depressed area), and the likelihood that it can be rapidly deployed.

Manufacturing facilities eligible include those developing essential or peripheral equipment in the venues of solar energy, wind energy, and geothermal energy, as well as products aimed at energy storage of renewable resources, advanced transmission technologies, renewable (biofuel) technologies, energy conservation technologies (lighting, smart meters, etc.), electric vehicle technologies, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies, and any product likely to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides, hydrofluorocarbons, and chlorofluorocarbons, to name the most prominent.

The original funding under ARRA, $2.3 billion, generated far more interest than anticipated, Biden said, which resulted in turning down some projects which would have qualified if not for too many bids submitted.

In addition, adding another $5 billion will support at least $15 billion in capital investments from venture firms, as well as creating tens of thousands of new manufacturing jobs, which will in turn generate thousands of new construction jobs.