{"id":24,"date":"2019-05-30T16:19:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-30T16:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/renewable-energy-blog\/?p=24"},"modified":"2021-09-22T17:48:15","modified_gmt":"2021-09-22T17:48:15","slug":"energy-related-tax-credits-and-incentives-whats-happening-in-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sherin.com\/renewable-energy-blog\/2019\/05\/30\/energy-related-tax-credits-and-incentives-whats-happening-in-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy-Related Tax Credits and Incentives \u2013 What\u2019s Happening in Congress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Congress is paying a lot of attention to renewable energy tax credits lately. With polling suggesting that climate change is among the top issues for voters in 2020, it\u2019s no surprise.<\/p>\n

The Clean Energy for America Act<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, along with twenty or so co-sponsors, introduced the Clean Energy for America Act<\/a> (CEAA). The bill reads like the wish list of every renewable energy advocate in the country. It also calls for the elimination of every fossil fuel related tax break there is (which reads like a list of reasons why you won\u2019t see this bill making it to the Senate floor, let alone becoming a law). Still, this creates a good opportunity to look at the ways in which fossil fuels are subsidized in our tax code \u2013 whether before, during, or after extraction. Though I am well-versed in the substance of renewable energy tax credits, I am admittedly ill-informed on the fossil side \u2500 the tax code\u2019s dirty little secret.<\/p>\n

Last week Senator Grassley of Iowa, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, created a series of taskforces to address the issue of repeated expiration and potential renewal of a myriad of temporary tax incentives and credits.\u00a0 His remarks can be read here<\/a>. Senator Grassley is a longtime supporter of the Production Tax Credit (PTC), IRS code section 45, and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), IRS code section 48 for renewable energy properties, recognizing the impact these credits had on driving the growth of the wind and solar industries. Because the PTC is in its final year of a phasedown, wind will be at the mercy of the unsubsidized market starting in 2020.<\/p>\n

The Phase-out of PTC and ITC – That\u2019s only fair, right?\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

On May 21, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, chaired by Senator Murkowski, held a hearing on renewable energy and energy efficiency<\/a>. Senator Murkowski made it clear, and many agree, that the PTC and ITC were extended for the last time at the end of 2015 when they were given a phaseout period. Rather than consensus, the extension was a compromise. The alternative being nothing. Energy storage has never had the benefit of the ITC. A separate push is being made to include it now.<\/p>\n

But how is it that the tax incentives for renewable energy have gone on too long, when there are permanent incentives for fossil fuels built into our tax code? They\u2019re not even being discussed by Senator Grassley\u2019s taskforces because they don\u2019t expire.<\/p>\n

What Fossil Fuel Credits Would the Clean Energy for America Act Eliminate? <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Clean Energy for America Act would eliminate the following tax incentives, many of which are scarcely discussed by Congress:<\/p>\n

(All section references are to the Internal Revenue Code<\/em>)<\/p>\n