December 17th, 2010
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Congress finally dealt with that looming Bush-Era Tax Cuts bill this week, passing it with solid bipartisan support (it also had rare bipartisan opposition). While the bill was reportedly light on special attachments, green energy advocates were able to squeak in an extension for a grant program that they say has fueled growth in the wind, solar and geothermal fields.
Detractors have argued that the nation cannot afford such stimulus money, anymore, and we would heartily agreed that Washington’s spending ledger looks like Scrooge’s, after his epiphany. We’re spending too much.
But this victory for clean energy shows that reason prevailed when it came to targeted spending that helps jobs and bolsters the nation’s competitiveness. (I’m not kidding myself, it wasn’t to clear the atmosphere.) This program helps new industries that must compete with already-subsidized established energy sources, like coal and nuclear power; and may help the country maintain its manufacturing edge globally.
Forget even that many of the entrenched energy providers, like coal especially, get a pass on their air pollution, having successfully beaten back carbon taxes and penalties. Consider only that they get tax perks and have much of their capital investment in place. Wind, solar and geothermal providers, face steep capital costs, and need ways to lure investors. They need a leveled playing field, especially in the absence of clear messages from Congress on climate action or greenhouse gas penalties.
The incentive that was extended is called the Department of the Treasury 1603 program.
The Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) estimates that since its creation under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 1603 has helped 1,100 solar projects in 42 states, drawing in $18 billion in investment.
The program played a key role in the doubling of the U.S. solar industry in 2010, helping keep the 93,000 Americans employed in solar power off the unemployment rolls, according to SEIA.
Wind, too, reaped rewards from 1603, which was enacted to replace a tax credit created by the Bush Administration (support for green energy has been, in its short history, bipartisan). It helped the industry keep a strong foothold in early adopter states, and has set the stage for more growth.
“We’re already making 20 percent of the electricity in Iowa, and have made as much as 25 percent of the electricity in Texas,” said Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association. “We (wind producers) hold the lead in building and expanding our U.S. manufacturing base than most other industries. With the industry expansion this extension will incentivize, we’re going to be making a whole lot more affordable, homegrown electric power in the years to come.”
This, said Bode, is one holiday present that will give back. It will fortify the 85,000 Americans working in the industry, most importantly, the thousands among them that have been furloughed from their jobs.
“Orders will be on the rise for new wind power,” she rpredicted, “and investors will put more capital into the U.S. economy because of what happened in Congress last night.”
Copyright © 2010 Green Right Now | Distributed by GRN Network
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