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Energy incentives to sweeten tax bill?

While adding new items to the tax deal risks turning it into a “Christmas Tree” bill that could eventually scare away some votes, leading renewable energy groups and their congressional advocates are arguing the grants would lead to tens of thousands of new jobs in the wind, solar, geothermal, hydropower, biomass and other renewable energy sectors.

“These are some of the biggest potential job producers in the country,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). “And it’s dependent on these Treasury grant programs for the most part.”

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Feinstein said she is going to compile a list of projects that would not go forward if the grants are not extended and is preparing to send out a letter on the matter.

Republicans are not favorable to extending incentives gained through last year’s economic stimulus law. The federal renewable energy grants – which expire at the end of this year – hitched a ride on the stimulus bill.

Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, contends there is a misperception that these incentives were born in the stimulus plan. The stimulus bill established the grants as a way to give the industry more flexibility and monetize George W. Bush-era production tax credits that had essentially dried up due to a lack of available financing following the financial crisis.

“It’s a longtime business tax extender that was tweaked in order to allow business in the renewable sector to continue to operate,” Bode said Wednesday. “So it’s not an original stimulus package program.”

The solar industry is also putting all hands on deck.

“We’ve pretty much dropped everything as an industry,” to work on getting the federal grants through as part of the tax package,” said Solar Energy Industries Association President & CEO Rhone Resch. “It really is an all-out effort by all of the renewable energy industry.”

Resch said it is “critical” that the grants be part of the tax deal and that there is not legislative plan B at the moment.

The grants “are simply the most important policy to continuing the growth of the renewable energy industry in the United States,” Resch said. “We’ve never had so much at risk,” Bode echoed.

One thing that might make it a more palatable vote for Levin is if an additional $2.5 billion for advanced energy manufacturing tax credits are included. It would add on to tax credits in last year’s stimulus bill to provide a 30 percent investment credit for facilities.

“I don’t want to see there’s nothing which would make it more palatable. But in its present form I got real problems with it,” Levin said.


Eric D. Schwerin
Rosemont Seneca Partners, LLC
1010 Wisconsin Ave., NW
Suite 705
Washington, DC 20007
(202) 333-1880
eschwerin@rosemontseneca.com
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