From PESWiki

Directory of US Government and Energy issues.

What Incentives?

Alternative Fuels

Also in the fuels arena, the law extends the alternative fuels tax credits and extends for one year the existing $1 per gallon credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel production.

Energy Efficiency

Energy efficiency gets a nod as well with measures, such as rebates for appliances and bonds available to building operators that decrease building energy usage by 20 percent.

Geothermal

Residential geothermal systems have a $2,000 tax credit. And credits for marine power systems were extended eight years as well.

Hybrids

The law will give drivers of plug-in hybrid vehicles a tax credit between $2,500 and $7,500, depending on the capacity of the battery. Larger vehicles, such as trucks, have larger credits.

Solar

• Extends for eight years the 30 percent tax credit for solar residential and commercial solar installations.
• Eliminates the $2,000 cap on that tax credit for solar electric panels installed after the end of this year.
• Allows utilities to benefit from these tax credits.

Wind

Wind power installations can benefit from the tax credits as well. For small wind turbines under 100 kilowatts, the federal government will now give a tax credit of up to $4,000 for the next eight years.

In the News

• Bailout plan bails out clean-energy sector - The massive U.S. financial bailout plan, signed into law Friday afternoon, renews existing tax credits for renewable energy and includes rebates for plug-in hybrid drivers. (CNet News; Oct 3, 2008)

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  Featured: PAC >
  U.S. Senate Passes Energy Bill - A much contested energy bill that would offer the Solar Industry a major boost is closer to being passed into law now that the Senate has made some concessions. H.R. 6049 calls for approximately $18 billion of tax incentives for investment in renewable energy, carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects, energy efficiency and conservation. (PESWiki; Sept. 25, 2008)
  

• Senate Approves Renewable Energy Credits - Things could be looking up for renewal of renewable energy incentives as the U.S. Senate has approved $17 billion in tax credits for wind, solar, geothermal and ocean energy systems. (Domestic Fuel; Sept. 23, 2008)

Other Coverage

• Urge Your Representative to Vote for a Small-Wind Investment Tax Credit

Directories

• The Final "Bail-Out Bill" - 442 Pages.
• The Library of Congress > THOMAS Home > Bills, Resolutions
• How Our Laws Are Made
• All Bills before Congress
• US Voter Information Map
• Mobile Device Version of US Voter Map

Government and Politics

• 
  Featured: Trends / U.S. Government and Energy >
  Barack Obama's Stance and Policies on Renewable Energy - Lists the items in the Comprehensive Energy Plan as proposed by the President-Elect with attention to both short term and long term objectives, including energy efficiency, promoting plug-in hybrids, and supporting renewable energy sources. (PESWiki; Nov. 6, 2008)
  

• House OKs tax relief; sets up battle with Senate - The bill is H.R. 7060. The House voted 257-166 on a $60 billion measure dealing with renewable energy initiatives and the extension of such business and individual tax breaks as the R&D credit, credit for higher education tuition, deductions for state and local sales taxes and the expansion of eligibility for the child tax credit. (Associafged Press; Sept. 26, 2008)

• House OKs extending renewable energy tax credits - The House has passed their own bill that is not in synch with the Bill passed by the Senate. (Reuters; Sept. 26, 2008)

• H.R. 6049 Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008
• Current Bills before the House
• House Passes Energy Bill, Lifts Offshore Oil Ban - Democrats referred to HR 6899 "Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act" as a compromise bill. Their priorities included the repeal of tax benefits for oil companies -- rechanneling that money to foster renewable energy efforts. The bill also mandates that, by 2020, utility companies get at least 15 percent of their energy from renewable sources. (Courant; Sept. 16, 2008)

Skeptics

• What Price Should Fed Pay? - No one seems to know what price the Fed should pay to buy bad mortgage backed securities. A high cost would be bad for taxpayers. Video.

• Where Was The SEC? - Critics are questioning why the Securities and Exchange Commission and its chairman Chris Cox didn't do more to prevent the market meltdown. Video.

• Why the Energy Bill is Bad for Americans - "You've seen rising gas costs. You've experienced the difficulty in finding gas over the past few days as a result of Hurricane Ike. The House of Representatives had the chance last night to enact meaningful solutions to our energy problems. Unfortunately, the bill we voted on yesterday was more about politics than about what was best for YOU." (Right Side News; Sept. 18, 2008)

• The Biz Flog for September 10 Fannie and Freddie and Congress - Congress could have been providing oversight, back when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were crawling with lobbyists. Video (Eyeblast.tv; Sept. 10, 2008)

Discussion

See Discussion page

See also

• PAC

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