And I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt and using their top range figure of 75,000 jobs, using their bottom level of 52,000 jobs each one cost the U.S. taxpayer $173,000. Keep in mind the vast majority of those Keynesian-created jobs are only temporary.

(Politico) — A $9 billion Obama administration grant program for renewable energy projects has created tens of thousands of jobs, an Energy Department report out Friday concludes.

The report comes just one week after Speaker John Boehner slammed Energy Secretary Steven Chu over the claim and challenged him to provide proof of the jobs creation.

The report — conducted by DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory — concludes that the program supported 52,000 to 75,000 construction and installation jobs on average over the three years it was in effect.

Between 43,000 to 66,000 of those were indirect jobs in the supply chain (for example, in parts manufacturing). The other roughly 9,400 of the jobs were in the design and development of renewable energy systems.

Over the next 20 to 30 years, the projected lifetime of most projects, projects from the so-called 1603 grant program will support between 5,100 and 5,500 jobs annually.

The report offers the caveat that not all of the jobs estimated can be attributed to the 1603 program alone.

“Some projects supported by a 1603 award may have progressed without the award, while others may have progressed only as a direct result of the program; therefore, the jobs and economic impact estimates can only be attributed to the total investment in the projects,” it says.