US President Barack Obama announced in a speech this week a new tax incentive for the greening of commercial buildings in America. This is very promising for the US system integrators of YWire Technologies. Lighting control retrofits are the low hanging fruit of energy efficiency retrofits, and only 2% of US commercial non-mall buildings have a modern lighting control system installed. We will try to post the details of this tax incentive when it's released with the new US Federal government budget. 

For the full video of the President's speech here is a link to youtube.

( Via the Associated Press) 

"STATE COLLEGE, Pa. – President Barack Obama, turning briefly to his eclipsed domestic agenda, sharpened his sales pitch for clean energy technology Thursday by promising that the payoff would a be wave of jobs — the kind good enough to support families and long-term American prosperity.

In a quick trip to Pennsylvania, a politically critical state, Obama proposed a tax credit and other ideas aimed at getting businesses to retrofit their buildings and save costs. He acknowledged that as presidential ideas go, making commercial buildings more energy efficient "may not sound too sexy," but he said the commitment to such research could save billions in utility bills and create jobs of true "national purpose."

 "Making our buildings more energy efficient is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways to save money, combat pollution and create jobs," Obama told a supportive crowd of invited guests, many of them students, at Pennsylvania State University. The president chose Penn State largely because of its lead role in a research hub, under way in Philadelphia, that centers on energy-efficient technology.

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.

Obama's new buildings proposal also calls for broader access to financing for businesses that want to make energy-saving upgrades; competitive grants for states and local governments that make it easier for companies to upgrade their buildings; and more training for workers in the field of commercial building technology. He challenged corporate executives and university presidents to help the cause."