SEATTLE -- Is there such a thing as good economic news these days?

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., says yes. And that good news comes in the form of tax breaks for green energy for both solar and wind power.

There hasn't been a lot of hoopla about it, but when the Senate passed the bailout bill, it extended tax credits for clean energy. And that's cause for celebration here in Seattle.

If you thought all the tax breaks are for the big guys, you were wrong.

Puget Sound Energy is building wind farms. What will their new tax credit mean?

"This tax credit will save our customers $50 million over the next twenty years," said Kimberly Harris with Puget Sound Energy.

Cantwell says you can win, too. You can get a $7,500 tax credit for buying a plug-in electric car.

"For those of us in the Northwest, we know that using the power of hydroelectric system and using plug in cars would be a big boon to our economy," she said.

Seattle is a very green city. New buildings are energy efficient. Old ones are being retro-fitted.

The McKinstry Corporation, one of Seattle's biggest plumbing and heating contractors, predicts the federal tax credit will result in them hiring 400 more workers.

There's only one problem. Credit is so tight, companies may not be able to get loans to for their projects.

"It is bad timing for this movement," said David Allen, executive vice president of the McKinstry Corporation. "We are off the dime. We are making our buildings more efficient, but we still need to have the credit world supply the bridge money to get the buildings done."

Some aren't waiting. Seattle Steam broke ground Tuesday for a wood-burning energy efficient plant to provide steam heat to downtown Seattle. Seattle Steam is giving thanks to Congress.

"We are excited about the recognition that renewal energy forms are getting. It is a way for us to collectively get together and reduce greenhouse gases," said Stan Gents, CEO of the Seattle team.

That's the good news, the big concern: the turmoil on Wall Street will dry up money for even the best of plans.

Cantwell says her big concern is that a little-known and little-understood insurance scheme for questionable loans could implode next. It's called "credit default swaps" and Cantwell says the wheelers and dealers could make the Enron scandal look like small potatoes. She promises to make solving the mess a priority when she heads back to Washington, D.C.