May 30, 2008
That’s what it’s felt like, as we’ve seen Congress try time and again to pass legislation that will rationalize our use of energy and promote development of solar and other clean technologies. Each number represents a different attempt over the last few months to kick-start the process. Each number represents a bill put together by House or Senate, brought to the appropriate floor, debated, passed, then torn to shreds by the other chamber.
Let’s start, arbitrarily, with HR6—last year’s energy bill—that eked out money for corn ethanol and improved the CAFE standards without doing more than token funding for solar power. In February of this year, those measures stripped out from HR6 resurfaced in the economic stimulus bill, HR5140, only to be pushed back down underwater; Congress must have felt the government checks to be sent to taxpayers under this bill were stimulating enough. In the same month we saw HR5351, a stand-alone bill worth some $20 billion in clean energy tax credits. The Senate shook its head.
(more…)
May 30, 2008
You haven’t heard much from Solar Nation on the subject of nuclear power—pro, con, or impartial. That’s not because we don’t harbor our own views on the use of the technology, but because our focus here is on promoting the positive aspects of solar power, not publicizing the negative aspects of any competitors. Besides, we’re aware that many solar citizens out there may also be strong supporters of nuclear energy as a relatively carbon-free power source.
But we felt it was worth bringing to your attention a report in the May/June issue of EnergyBiz magazine by Pam Radtke Russell, which strongly suggests that the economic underpinnings of the pro-nuclear argument are sagging. Recent cost estimates for two separate nuclear plant proposals in Florida have shown an increase of more than 100% over industry figures that are just two years old. Combined with similar estimates from such sources as Moody’s Investor Service, these figures—attributable largely to rising costs of metals, forgings and labor—represent a significant threat to the viability of the form of power once touted as “too cheap too meter.”
(more…)
May 20, 2008
Tuesday May 20th is the National Day of Action for Clean Energy. It’s a day on which companies, industry groups, advocacy organizations, faith-based coalitions and many others are making a joint effort to urge Congressional legislators to extend clean energy tax incentives (credits) without delay.
You can find the Solar Nation Action Alert here.
To recap: Congress has spent nearly a year debating how to pay for these expiring tax incentives, which make it cheaper for individuals and companies to install renewable energy systems and build energy-efficient buildings. The House doesn’t want to pass any legislation without an identified source of funding, and the Senate won’t consider raising taxes elsewhere to fund the clean energy provisions.
Call it stalemate, call it deadlock, call it a stand-off; the bottom line is, the clean energy revolution is being strangled. Every day that passes without an extension places more green jobs and investment at risk* and slows down our transition to a clean energy economy.
*Estimated at 119,000 jobs and $20 billion. The report can be seen here.
The bill now working its way through Congress is HR6049; it’s summarized here.
May 9, 2008
Have you noticed the fatal flaws in the year-long string of unsuccessful attempts in Congress to keep tax credits alive for solar installations?
In brief, they’ve all been about funding: the bills either targeted oil & gas industry revenues to pay for the tax credits, or they had no source of funding at all. So they all ran into roadblocks manned, respectively, by Senate Republicans or House Democrats. To this day, no-one is willing to budge an inch from their position, even with legislation as important as this.
This week we heard something different from Capitol Hill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi are urging the House Ways & Means Committee to support a small ($6-8 billion) renewable energy tax extenders package that would include Solar and that would be funded, not from the oil & gas industry but from the reporting of credit-card transactions to the IRS.
It’s a new and potentially winning strategy, but it could still fail if House and Senate Republicans–particularly those on the Finance and Ways & Means committees–try to reject the package out of hand. If they indicate that they are leaning this way, House Democrats could very well be discouraged from moving forward with this innovative approach.
We’re targeting just ten senators on the Finance Committee and three representatives on the Ways & Means Committee*, and if you’re a constituent of one of them we urgently need you to call their Washington office and make sure they understand what’s at stake here.
CAN YOU HELP?
(more…)
May 5, 2008
Congressional leadership has done an about-face. After a year of unsuccessful attempts to get Congress to authorize long-term extensions to solar energy investment tax credits by enclosing the measures in energy bills and economic stimulus packages, Speaker Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Reid had been planning to include these measures in the Iraq War supplemental legislation. We now understand that they may decide to drop the renewable energy provisions from this bill.
This is a serious setback and will mean great hardship for the solar energy community. Spending $110 billion for security in Iraq without spending a dime on energy security in the United States does nothing to advance us as a renewable energy society.
Read more and take action here!
