US to give $2.3 bn in stimulus for clean energy

WASHINGTON - The US will give up to $2.3 billion in tax credits to green manufacturers in the latest disbursement Thursday of the government’s economic stimulus package.

The new credits will go to manufacturers of clean energy equipment including wind, solar, geothermal energy and electric car batteries. Vice President Joe Biden said it marked the latest effort both to revive the US economy and transition away from fossil fuels.

But companies will only find out in January 2010 whether they have been approved for a tax credit, the Energy Department and Treasury Department said in a joint statement.

Funds from the $787-billion stimulus package, which was approved in February, have been slowly making their way into the struggling US economy over the past few months.