Obama to announce alternative-energy grants

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After spending an evening raising money in Florida, President Obama turns his attention today to another favorite issue: alternative and renewable energy.

Obama will visit a solar-energy facility in Arcadia, Fla., where he is scheduled to announce that his administration will make $3.4 billion available for 100 projects aimed at modernizing the power grid. The president will visit Florida Power & Light Co.’s DeSoto Next Generation Solar Energy Center, the largest photovoltaic electricity facility in the country.

Obama’s remarks at the plant are expected to be similar to his refrain on Monday night at his campaign stop at the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach.

“So now is the time for us to build a clean-energy economy that will free ourselves from foreign oil and will generate new green jobs in the process,’ Obama told fellow Democrats and their contributors.

The grants will focus on developing renewable-energy sources such as solar and wind. The $3.4 billion will be matched by $4.7 billion in private investments, White House officials said. The smallest grant will be $400,000 and the largest, $200 million. Here’s a list of grant recipients, and a list of recipients by state.

– Michael Muskal
Twitter.com/LATimesmuskal