The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Department of Energy announced on Wednesday an estimated $3 billion from Recovery Act funds to speed up the development of renewable energy projects, which the Obama administration says it will help the nation's economy.

The program will provide direct payments in lieu of tax credits in support of an estimated 5,000 bio-mass, solar, wind and other types of renewable energy production facilities.

Previously, energy companies had to wait to file a tax return to cover certain costs of their projects but the new program will accelerate the benefits, so companies have funds available almost immediately.

This new program directly addresses the financing challenge for renewable energy projects in the U.S. , which enable the companies to start securing financing and begin construction quickly, Matt Rogers, Senior Advisor for Recovery Act Implementation at the DOE said during a conference call on Thursday.

"These payments will help spur major private sector investments in clean energy and create new jobs for America's workers,' Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu said in a statement today. "It is part of our broad effort to double our renewable energy capacity in the next few years and make sure that America leads the world in creating the new clean energy economy of the future.'

The Treasury is not accepting applications for the program yet but it has released the program's terms and conditions, the guidance document and a sample application form on its website.