WASHINGTON, DC (April 2, 2014) – The Department of Energy today announced that $16 billion in loan authority is available to automakers and suppliers through the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan (ATVM) program. The following is a statement from BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster:

“Today’s announcement opens up the opportunity for hundreds of companies to stake their claim in the clean energy and fuel-saving industries of the future. Manufacturing is what turns American innovation into prosperity and American jobs, and the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan program helps make it possible. The loan program has already successfully helped to transform how we deploy clean energy technology by retooling factories, expanding manufacturing capacity and capturing all of the economic benefits that result.

“The Department of Energy has done the right thing by making it easier for automakers and suppliers to invest in domestic manufacturing opportunities. The initial round of funding created or saved 35,000 direct jobs and helped retool more than a dozen plants across eight states to build world leading technology with state of the art advanced manufacturing processes. Expanding access to manufacturing opportunities—especially in the auto sector—will kick the economy into high gear and yield good jobs for American workers for a long time to come.”