May 24, 2008

Renewable Energy Tax Credits Pass House

Some advocacy groups worry that the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, passed last week by the U.S. House of Representatives, is the final opportunity to get the tax credits passed before the industry starts seeing serious slowdowns in the market, RenewableEnergyWorld.com reports.

The bill extends the production tax credit for one year, extends the investment tax credit for six years, and authorizes $2 billion for new clean renewable energy bonds to finance renewable energy facilities.

Since so many attempts to pass similar legislation have failed, the most recent bill is the last best chance to extend the tax incentives, according to Chris Stimpson, executive campaigner for the grassroots advocacy organization Solar Nation.

The tax extension now moves to the Senate where observers expect it to face an uphill battle because of disagreements over how to pay for the credits and election-year politics.

In April the U.S. Senate voted to extend tax credits for wind-power and solar-energy projects.

In June 2008 the U.S. Senate Finance Committee approved an updated package of energy tax incentives, which contained a 5-year extension of the tax credit for the production of electricity from wind, geothermal, biomass and other renewable energy resources.

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