Earth Equity News

Green Stimulus Provisions Offered by Dems. By Rosalie Westenskow, UPI, January 25, 2009. "As the U.S. House of Representatives expedites passage of the nation's largest economic stimulus package ever, renewable-power producers are heralding some obscure provisions they say are essential to their survival. The $825 billion piece of legislation, unveiled by House Democratic Party leadership last week, contains billions for new investments in energy, including $8 billion in loans for clean technology projects, $6.7 billion for retrofits of federal buildings to make them more energy efficient and $11 billion for development of a new national electricity grid. While these high-dollar direct investments have stolen the spotlight, one of the most welcome provisions for renewable industry leaders lies in two obscure passages of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act -- a bill that will be combined with the stimulus -- that tweak existing incentive program. The Investment Tax Credit provides a 30 percent tax credit for residential and commercial solar installations, and Congress extended the incentive for another eight years as part of last fall's $700 billion stimulus package. Lawmakers also extended the life of its sister program, the Production Tax Credit, which provides 1.9 cents per kilowatt-hour for wind, geothermal and a few other technologies. Now, the House is considering making those credits refundable. In other words, instead of saving money on taxes, investors in renewable energy would get a direct payment within 60 days of application equivalent to the tax credit through a grant program at the Department of Energy. The refundable status of the credits would last for two years, through 2010, with no cap on the amount of funds available for distribution."