Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) plans to introduce this Thursday (5/10) a comprehensive energy tax incentives bill, titled the "Clean Energy Incentive Assurance Act," in an attempt to advance development of renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts. The bill includes, among other things, a five-year extension of the Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) program, with an annual volume cap of $5 billion. In the summary of the bill, Cantwell also mentions that the "smallest-to-largest" project allocation has made it difficult for these bonds to be an effective incentive for large-scale projects.
In addition, the bill includes a five-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for eligible renewable energy resources, an eight-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar and fuel cell technologies, and energy efficiency tax incentives for commercial and residential buildings. Sen. Cantwell is a new member of the Finance Committee and will be actively involved in the development of the Senate's version of an energy tax package, expected sometime in June.
Morgan Meguire has been meeting with the Cantwell office to discuss concerns about the current CREB program and ways to reform it. Cantwell's office is committed to working with public power to advance a reasonable (cost wise) and workable proposal, particularly as it relates to the "smallest-to-largest" methodology currently utilized by the IRS when allocating volume cap. In addition, Cantwell's office is aware that there is a definitional problem with the current statute (i.e. the broad definition of "governmental borrower" that allows entities other than utilities with an obligation to serve to receive CREB allocation), and may need further refinement.