On May 15, the House Ways and Means Committee marked-up and approved H.R. 6049, the Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008. The $57 billion bill will extend popular tax credits and deductions, such as state and local tax deductions and tuition and education expenses, as well as the research and development tax credit, some of which expired last year. The bill is expected to be considered by the full House today (5/21). NEPPA supports the bill and signed onto a full page advertisement in Roll Call, as well as a joint coalition letter, that included numerous environmental and business interests, encouraging enactment of the bill.
Of specific interest to NEPPA members, is a package of energy tax extenders included in the larger bill. It includes the Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs) language introduced by Reps. Jim McDermott (D-WA) and advanced by Select Revenue Subcommittee Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA) that public power has been seeking to modify the CREB program. Specifically, it includes a $2 billion extension of CREB bonding authority; clarifies the definition of "public power" by directing that one-third of the allocation go to pubic power utilities with an obligation to serve, one-third go to electric coops, and one-third go to other governmental entities; changes the allocation methodology to "pro-rata" for public power systems; and making other technical changes to the CREB program.
H.R. 6049 also includes the following energy incentives of interest:
- A six-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy;
- Three-year extensions of the production tax credit (PTC) for energy derived from biomass, geothermal, hydropower, landfill gas and solid waste; but only a one-year extension of the PTC for energy derived from wind;
- Tax incentives for coal-fired power plants that capture and sequester carbon dioxide;
- Incentives for the production of renewable fuels such as biodiesel and renewable diesel and cellulosic biofuels;
- Incentives for energy conservation in commercial buildings and residential structures;
- Incentives to encourage energy efficient products, such as plug-in hybrids cars; and
- Tax credit bonds providing State and local government with funds to make energy conservation investments in public infrastructure and invest in research.
In an effort to garner support from Republicans and the White House, the bill is paid for by non- oil-and-gas offsets, such as the inclusion of deferred compensation for offshore corporations (raises $24 billion) and delaying the implementation of the worldwide allocation of interest (raises $30 billion). However, it is unclear if Republicans and the President will support a bill that includes these offsets either.