Awwal 01, 1432, Feb 04, 2011, SPA -- U.S. President Barack Obama on Thursday called on American businesses to make new investments in clean energy technology that would serve as the foundation for long-term American prosperity. During his speech in Pennsylvania after touring labs focused on energy-efficient building solutions, Obama proposed a new tax credit and other measures to encourage businesses to retrofit their plants and reduce costs - steps that he said would save $40 billion a year in utility bills. The visit to the Penn State campus was designed to highlight Obama's emphasis on energy and his view that technological innovations represent jobs of the future. "Making our buildings more energy efficient is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to save money, combat pollution and create jobs," Obama said. The comments come as the administration is working to push its economic ideas, ahead of the release of the budget plan on February 14. "In America innovation isn't just how we change our lives, it's how we make a living," Obama said, pushing a key feature of an economic agenda that blends his goals of greater energy independence with a long-term job growth strategy. Speaking directly to an audience largely of University students, Obama said: "the greatest force that the world has ever known and that is the American idea. If you remember that and keep breaking new ground, if we as a country keep investing in you, I'm absolutely confident that America will win the future in this century just like we did in the last." As part of his new plan, Obama will ask Congress to provide companies with a tax credit that financially rewards them for retrofitting their buildings in ways that decrease energy usage. The proposal would alter the existing tax break for such commercial upgrades, switching it from a deduction to a credit that applies more widely, administration officials said.
