House Passes Legislation to Support Renewable Energy Development, Again

Date: March 3, 2008

Source: News Room

In a vote of 236 to 182, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008 (H.R. 5351), a bill that would extend much-needed tax benefits to the renewable energy industry. In its current form, H.R. 5351 would extend the 30% investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy and qualified fuel cell projects for eight years. It would also extend by three years the production tax credit (PTC) for certain renewable energy facilities such as wind, biomass, and geothermal, and it would establish a new PTC for cellulosic ethanol production. The bill proposed to fund the ITC and PTC extensions through reductions in oil subsidies, resurrecting a provision removed from the energy legislation that was passed in December 2007. "Because this legislation is vital for a greener and more prosperous future, it is supported by a broad coalition from business, environmental, and labor communities—from corporations such as Home Depot and Dow Chemical Company,to the Sierra Club, to the United Steelworkers and the National Farmers Union," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said in her floor speech prior to the vote on the bill.

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