2007 Energy Bill down to the Wire

As of today, much of the work done over the past year on the Congressional Energy Bill (several different versions thereof) comes to a head. The U.S. House of Representatives is to vote this afternoon on a package that, we are informed by Washington sources, contains the following provisions:

• Long-term extension of investment tax credits for solar energy and fuel cells This extends the 30% investment tax credit for solar energy and fuel cell development for eight years, and removes an existing limitation that prevents public utilities from claining this credit.
• Long-term extension of production tax credits for renewable energyProduction tax credits, available to developers of renewable energy facilities for energy produced, are extended until the end of 2012. This would include wind, biomass, geothermal, some hydro, and landfill gas.
• Long-term extension of residential energy-efficient property credit This extends the credit for residential solar property until the end of 2014. It also increases the annual credit cap to $4000, and allows the credit to be used to offset alternative minimum tax.

The costs associated with these measures amount to some $7.5B over the next ten years. Other measures in the bill address carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects (incentives of nearly $2B), production credits for cellulosic alcohol fuel (nearly $500M) and biodiesel ($200M), and a one-year extension of credits for energy-efficiency improvements to homes ($400M).

The bill, if passed by the House, still has to face a stern test in the Senate. There the influence of powerful lobbies such as the oil and gas industry has made itself felt more than in the House, and the resultant bill still has to survive threatened veto action by the President. But for the House to be voting on a bill that, in its present form, could actually give the nascent renewable energy industry in America some traction is a mark of progress in itself.

The Senate is expected to take its vote within a few days.  We’ll keep you updated on the progress of the energy bill as the news comes in from Washington.