Renewable Energy And Energy Efficiency Tax Credits Are Back On The Table
Posted on Feb 21, 2008 - 11:22 AM
By: Adam Beazley
If you have not been keeping up with congress and whats been going on with our current energy bills and tax incentives, here is a little refresher course:
Back in 2006 a fantastic bill was passed that authorized many different tax incentives which rewarded individuals and businesses for using energy efficient products, renewable energy and hybrid vehicles. These tax incentives have been responsible for huge decreases in the price of solar and wind technologies, bringing us closer and closer to grid parity. But, in January of 2008, in the most recent energy bill, all of these major tax incentives were stripped out of the bill and left to expire in December of 2008. The main reason that these provisions were stripped out of the last energy bill is because the bill was attempting to drastically cut current tax breaks available to major oil and gas companies. This was the fail point for the entire bill which caused it to be reconfigured (subtracting all of the good stuff) and then passed through as an energy bill (with total disregard for alternative energy).
Now, there is a new bill (H.R. 5351, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008) on the table which would not only extend all of the “set to expire” tax credits, but would improve almost all of them. Some of the major provisions included are extensions and increases to, the residential energy-efficient property credit, the solar energy and fuel cell investment tax credit, renewable energy production tax credit and many more.
This bill, unlike the last one is not proposing to “cut” tax breaks for major oil producers, instead it is proposing a freeze on the current law section 199 benefits, at 6% for oil and natural gas production income. Section 199 which would otherwise increase to 9% by 2010, would simply stop at its current rate and save approximately $13.57 million over a ten year period. The bill also proposes a clarification to an existing tax code which would eliminate the potential for major oil and gas companies to manipulate their extraction income in order to achieve beneficial results under U.S. foreign tax credit rules. This small clarification would raise approximately $4.08 billion over ten years, and would more than cover the proposed renewable energy and energy efficiency tax incentives.
The incentives in this bill will help architects, engineers, developers, home builders and home owners make their properties more energy efficient. They will help lower energy costs, and they help improve the environment. However, unless Congress acts now to extend them, we may loose them. So, we urge you to take a few minutes and write, call or email your local congressmen and ask them to support the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008, H.R. 5351.
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Show/Hide Comments (4)
By poetryman69 on 02/22/2008
Energy Independence Now!
No more Oil Wars!
Stop funding the terrorists!
Drill in Anwar.
Build more nuclear power plants
Use More coal.
Use more natural gas
Turn trash into energy
Double the efficiency of windmills and solar cells.
If France can do nuclear power so can we.
If Brazil can do biomass/ethanol power so can we.
If Australia can do LNG power so can we.
Domestically produced energy will end recession and spur the economy.
By Adam Beazley on 02/22/2008
Although a lot of what you said is true, I disagree with some of your recommendations.
Nuclear power plants = to expensive and the waste is very bad
Coal is the worst type of energy ever. It is responsible for more cancer than cigarettes and more acid rain and pollution than any other energy source.
Natural Gas = better but still not good for the environment.
Wind turbines and solar are definitely the way to go but corn ethanol is worse for the environment than gasoline.
By Jim Bisnett on 05/16/2008
I agree that energy efficiency tax breaks are a step in the right direction for our environment. The direction is not always clear though in my opinion. Clean and renewable resources such as wind mills and solar energy on a mass scale seems like the best footing to me.
By alternative energy forum on 07/01/2008
Renewable energy is booming. The use of solar power has been growing by more than 30% a year and, except for a hiccup in 2004—when Congress delayed renewing a tax credit—so has wind power. Ethanol is heading for record production levels. And there’s no end in sight, given high oil and gas prices, an increasing number of government mandates and incentives, and the first real steps toward tackling global warming. Clean Edge Inc., a research and strategy consultant, predicts that the total clean-energy market will grow to $92 billion by 2013, about seven times its current size of $13 billion. “The investment community is starting to see real opportunities,” says Ron Pernick, co-founder of Clean Edge.
