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In a legislative session dominated by fights over big-ticket items such as nuclear funding, lawmakers' efforts for other kinds of power didn't get much attention.

But lawmakers in fact gave a big boost to solar and wind energy projects before heading back to their districts.

They put a big pile of money on the table for both kinds of power, and made that money relatively easy to get.

House Bill 473 built upon a tax credit incentive created during the last legislative session.

The new measure lets stimulus money be used for grants to solar and wind projects, instead of after-the-fact tax credits.

The grants could pay for up to 35 percent of a project's cost, although the total dollar amount is subject to caps of $100,000 to $500,000 depending on the technology.

Federal grants are also available for up to 30 percent of a project's costs, making the total subsidy 65 percent of the cost.

Put another way, a business wanting to install solar panels on its roof, or on top of a parking garage, would have to pay only 35 percent of the cost out of pocket.

Walter Brown, chairman of the Georgia Solar Energy Association, said the new law will make it easier to tap into state assistance than the tax credits did.

The benefit of the credits, for instance, varied with the size of the applicant's tax obligation.

The new bill also fits the goals of the federal stimulus effort, Brown said.

"If you want to spend the money quickly and you want to do it on clean energy, this is the way to do it," he said.