Sun setting on energy tax credits

(CNS): Unless Congress extends the renewable tax credits soon, the potential thriving renewable energy industry seen as a critical solution to problems such as high energy prices and climate change could stall. According to a release by Environmental Expert a portal for the environment industry, Green power is part of the solution for energy costs, the economy, and climate change. 

A sustained clean energy boom will make the US economy less dependent on fossil fuels such as natural gas that are subject to significant price volatility says EE and better policy support for green power will allowU.S. companies to lead in a fast growing market, and create the jobs and technologies that will supply the world with the next generation of energy. The experts also point to the displacement of fossil fuels in favor of renewable energy will decrease greenhouse gas emissions and help tackle the climate change threat.

Renewable energy tax credits—the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC)—have been a key driver of in the development of green power in the United States. These credits improve the cost-competitiveness of low-carbon technologies for energy production. The incentives have wide, bipartisan support, but a Congressional fight over how to pay for them has left the future of these tax incentives in limbo.

In late July, the Senate again failed to extend them. They are set to expire on December 31st. With the political world focused squarely on the November election, lawmakers have little time to pass tax credit extensions before Congress adjourns at the end of the year. The tax savings companies receive from the credits can make the difference between a profitable renewable energy project and a failed one. The PTC and the ITC also increase R&D funding to these industries and speed the rate at which these technologies are adopted in the market.

Year-to-year extensions do not provide the certainty companies need to make large, long-term capital investments that are necessary to complete renewable power projects.