President Obama topped headlines over the weekend by announcing a $2 billion in federal loan guarantees that will allow two solar companies to build three solar energy projects in three different states, creating thousands of jobs in the process.

One of the companies is Abengoa Solar, which will use federal backing of $1.45 billion to build a 250-megawatt (MW) solar concentrating plant in Arizona that, when completed in 2013, will be one of the world’s largest solar concentrating plants, according to Industrial Fuels and Power. The other is Abound Solar, a Colorado-based solar thin-film company that will use the opportunity to build two manufacturing plants. One of the plants will be in Colorado, the other in Indiana.

President Obama conceded during his announcement that the country may never recover some of the jobs lost during the most recent recession. But he emphasized that these solar project will help make new ones in the renewable energy sector. Construction of the Arizona plant is scheduled to begin this year will immediately 1,600 construction jobs. All told, the projects are projected to create 2,000 construction jobs and an additional 1,500 permanent jobs, according to Examiner.