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March 24, 2008At the end of February, the U.S. House of Representatives went “once more unto the breach” in an attempt to create long-term extensions for renewable energy tax credits.

And just as had happened twice before, the bill (on this occasion the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax of 2008, H.R. 5351) passed the House comfortably. The final vote was 236 - 182 with 11 members of the House not voting, and was largely split along party lines.

In a joint statement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and sponsor of the bill Charles Rangel said: “The bill extends and expands tax incentives for renewable electricity, energy and fuel, as well as for hybrid cars, and energy efficient homes, buildings, and appliances. It does not add to our deficit, but rather repeals $18 billion in tax subsidies for Big Oil companies. By strengthening our renewable energy sector, the bill will help create the next generation of good-paying, green collar jobs and bring down energy prices in the long term.”

Of course, it’s that “$18 billion in tax subsidies for Big Oil” that has stymied similar bills before, with Senate Republicans closing ranks in the face of intense lobbying from that very sector of American industry. And the Bush Administration has already issued a letter indicating that the president will veto a bill that rolls back tax breaks for the oil and gas industry, so all eyes are now on the Senate: can the Finance Committee find sources of revenue for renewable energy tax credits that are less objectionable to the GOP and the White House?

We understand that in this interim period between House and Senate votes, Finance Committee members are working hard to find common ground between opposing positions. There are other potential sources of revenue out there that could sway enough Republicans to switch their vote when the bill comes to the Senate floor in late April–enough to avoid a filibuster, perhaps enough even to overcome a veto–but it’s going to take a lot of haggling on the Hill to make everybody play nice.

Postscript: We’re told—by Oil and Gas—that Oil and Gas needs those tax breaks to finance exploration for new sources of oil and gas. What a difference three years makes. Here’s President Bush on 5/14/2005:

“And so one of the initiatives that I will push, again, is to get an energy bill out. I will tell you with $55 oil we don’t need incentives to oil and gas companies to explore. There are plenty of incentives. What we need is to put a strategy in place that will help this country over time become less dependent. It’s really important. It’s an important part of our economic security, and it’s an important part of our national security.”

http://www.solar-nation.org/2008/03/24/whats-the-latest-on-that-energy-bill/

The Senate May Kill 42 GW of Planned Renewable Energy
Written by Hank Green Wednesday, 05 March 2008

While the U.S. House has happily passed the renewable energy credits that have, for the last few years, kept the U.S. competitive with other countries in this burgeoning new economy, the Senate has failed to pass the legislation three times.

The largest planned solar power project in history, a 280-megawatt solar thermal plant in Arizona, will not be built if the tax credits are not extended. But that’s not where the story ends. Over 42,000 MW — that’s as much as 75 coal-fired power plants — are hinging on this bill. Those projects, representing the largest yearly growth in U.S. solar EVER, will go online in 42 states only if the subsidies stay in place.

The renewable energy credits will expire at the end of 2008 and already planned projects are putting in a provision saying that they will cancel if the credits are not passed. The problem seems to be that every version of the renewable energy credit bill that has hit the Senate takes subsidies away from oil and gas companies and gives them to the renewables energy. Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, the head Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has said that he will block any such legislation, calling the repeal of their subsidies a “tax” on oil and gas.

Many Senators claim that ending oil and gas subsidies will only serve to increase gas prices but, call me crazy, giving taxpayers’ money to the oil companies so they can lower prices doesn’t really make that much sense. We could just give the money straight to the taxpayers instead of helping to increase the already-record profits of the oil industry.

Subsidies exist to help bolster new economies when they need the capital, not to prop up dying systems. If our country can put together the funding to create 42 gigawatts of renewable energy, that will be something that we can all be proud of. That, in fact, will stop the demand for new coal power plants while putting us in a position to compete with the rest of the world in this new energy economy.

Senate Democrats are scrambling to put together a stand-alone version of the bill. The last two have failed by just one vote (notably, John McCain did not vote on either bill) and Democrats are confident that they can pull that extra vote from somewhere before their effectual deadline at the end of the first quarter of ‘08. Let’s hope they get this done…NOW.