Federal Solar ITC Campaign
5/05/08
Unfortuneatly, no new developments to report. Even though both the House and Senate have passed legislation to extend the tax credits, they haven't been able to reconcile the differences between the two versions. Help end this stalemate by taking action here.
Send everyone you know a link to this action alert, we want it to go viral!
4/10/08
Great News friends! With an overwhelming bi-partisan vote of 88 to 8, the Senate accepted the Cantwell-Ensign tax extender bill as an amendment to the housing bill (H.R. 3221, the Foreclosure Prevention Act of 2008). The amendment included an 8-year extension of the commercial solar ITC, and a 1-year extension of the residential solar ITC (with a removal of the $2000 cap). H.R. 3221 passed by a vote of 84 to 12 (roll call vote). The next step is a conference process between the Senate and the House to reconcile their two differing tax packages. Stay tuned.
Senators Voting Against the Cantwell-Ensign Amendment
Alexander (R-TN), Bunning (R-KY), Byrd (D-WV), Carper (D-DE), Dodd (D-CT), Kyl (R-AZ), Sessions (R-AL), Voinovich (R-OH).
Senators Not Voting
Clinton (D-NY), Dole (R-NC), McCain (R-AZ), Obama (D-IL).
4/8/08
The Senate will vote today on a comprehensive housing bill, H.R.3221, and Senators Cantwell Ensign are attempting to add their clean energy tax bill (S. 2821, the Clean Energy Stimulus Act of 2008), which includes an 8-year extension of the commercial ITC and a 1-year extension of the residential ITC, as an amendment. Check back for updates.
Financial Executives Press Call on Pending Tax Credits
To help bolster the chance of passage of a long-term solar ITC, Vote Solar organized a press call on April 8th, with leading financial executives to discuss the economic impact a long-term extension of the ITC would have on the solar industry and the growth of a solar market in the U.S. Representatives from Morgan Stanley, HSH Nordbank, Lazard Capital Markets, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, and DBL Investors participated, with Rhone Resch, President of Solar Energy Industries Association, moderating.
Click here (doc) to read the press release from the call.
Click here (mp3) to listen to a recording of the call.
4/3/08
Promising developments are transpiring in Washington. Senators Cantwell (D-WA) and Ensign (R-NV) have crafted a bi-partisan bill to extend the expiring clean energy tax credits. The bill includes an 8-year extension of the commercial solar ITC and a 1-year extension - with a removal of the $2000 price cap - for the residential solar ITC. The bill also would extend the production tax credit (PTC) for wind, biomass, geothermal and other renewables for 1-year, and includes an extension of credits for energy efficiency improvements to existing homes, new homes, and commercial buildings.
Notably, the $7 billion package does not include a payment mechanism. As you may recall, the last three versions of clean energy tax legislation offset the price of the package by reducing the tax subsidy levels currently enjoyed by oil and gas companies. Given that Republican leadership in the Senate and the White House have stated that their previous opposition to the various tax extender packages hinged on the inclusion of the oil and gas pay-for mechanism, we are hopeful that this new legislation will garner widespread bi-partisan support.
We will be setting up a call to action soon on this bill, so please check back at our Action Center in the next day or two.
Click here to read a summary of the Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008.
2/6/08 UPDATE
The Senate's efforts to include a one-year extension of the ITC into the economic stimulus received only 58 votes--not enough to overcome a Republican filibuster and so the effort died.
We hear that the solar industry will take yet another run at a longer term extension; but at this point the legislative vehicle remains unclear.
1/31/08 UPDATE
The solar industry is trying another run at extending the ITC--and the window is in the next few months, before all the air gets sucked out of Washington due to the presidential election. The potential vehicles are few and murky. One might be a tax extenders package--something that just moves back sunset dates for a variety of tax incentives. Another vehicle might be to put it in a financial stimulus package.
And so here's our next chance: a one year extension of the solar ITC is in the Senate version of the economic stimulus bill. Our understanding is that it will be voted on today.
12/31/07 UPDATE
Bad news, friends. The Senate cloture vote failed, 59-40 (we needed 60 to cut off the Republican filibuster). The whisker-thin margin somehow makes it even harder to stomach. Congress then passed a stripped down version, without the tax title, which was signed into law.
When there's next steps to report--and there will be next steps--we'll let you know.
12/12/07 UPDATE
Senate to vote on revised energy bill on Thursday, Dec 13.
Text here (pdf), summary here (pdf), talking points here (pdf).
Results of previous cloture vote here.
12/07/07 UPDATE
Well, that was quick. The House-passed version failed to find sufficient support to move forward in the Senate.
Next steps: the Senate will chop up the provisions into individual packets of legislation, pass what they can, and send those items back to the House for consideration.
Here's the solar strategy. We want to find the hottest, most popular, fastest moving piece of energy legislation, and stick solar to it like glue. We call it Operation Paparazzi.
Can you take a moment to contact your Senator, immediately?
Send an email here.
12/06/07 UPDATE
House just passed the energy bill by a vote of 235 to 181. Summary of the tax title, with excellent solar provisions, here (pdf). Text here (pdf).
The solar provisions include:
- 8-year extension of the 30% investment tax credit for solar installations in businesses
- 6-year extension of the investment tax credit for residential solar systems, with a $4000 cap
At this point, Senator Reid is expected to bring the matter to a vote on the Senate floor on Saturday, 12/7.
11/14/07: An update on developments for federal support for solar.
Representatives from the House and the Senate are currently informally conferencing to reconcile the versions passed in each chamber (H.R. 3221, H.R. 2776 and H.R. 6). Last week, we got word that Congress was considering moving forward on an energy package without a tax title—and no tax title means no support for solar energy.
We just met with Pelosi’s staff, who informed us in no uncertain terms that the Speaker is now, and has always been, 100% in support of a long term investment tax credit (ITC) for solar energy.
The Senate is more precarious. Unlike the House, the version of the energy bill that the Senate passed over the summer did not have a tax title, and Senate Majority Leader Reid is in a more difficult position as he tries to find a way forward that has 60 votes—the threshold needed to avoid a filibuster.
As you can see from the excerpt from Congressional Quarterly below, the campaign to keep incentives for solar and wind in worked. Senator Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, is quoted as saying discussions on tax incentives are back from the dead.
On Saturday night, Senator Reid told supporters that he was exploring a plan to divide the energy bill into three pieces: CAFÉ standard and Renewable Fuels Standard; Renewable Energy Standard; and solar ITC (this might include wind PTC as well). His argument was that each element had 60 votes, but a different set for each, so splitting offered the best chance for success.
However, we worry that if the most popular element (CAFÉ) goes on its own, the push for the ITC might be a lot less robust, and some members might be tempted to pass CAFÉ, call it a victory, and go home.
In any event, we now have some more time to prepare: Congress goes home this Friday for Thanksgiving break, and the matter will be taken up after December 3, when they return.
The focus will then turn to the Senators that voted against cloture (i.e. refused to shut down the filibuster) on the Baucus Amendment. The list is here (pdf).
More soon-
Congressional Quarterly (11/14/07)
ENERGY
Baucus, Grassley See Better Chances For Tax Provisions
Senate Finance Committee leaders say an energy tax package is still alive and might be part of a broader energy bill Congress pushes through this year.
Finance Chairman Baucus said he is certain final energy legislation will include a collection of energy tax incentives.
"We're very close to an agreement with the House," he said Tuesday.
Baucus and Majority Leader Reid have been claiming they are close to completing the tax talks for weeks, and it appeared likely late last week that Democratic leaders would leave tax language off an initial energy package deal before Christmas.
But Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, said that while his perception Tuesday morning was that tax discussions were dead, he changed his assessment by early afternoon. "Evidently, there is one with life to it," he said.
The House approved a roughly $16 billion tax plan that pays for renewable energy tax incentives by scaling back incentives for oil and gas companies.
Supporters say those companies do not need the incentives, given record profits and high energy prices, and there is a greater need to boost alternatives to regular gasoline.
Republican leaders and the White House say Democrats are punitively attacking the oil and gas industry and it would end up raising energy costs for consumers.
Republicans blocked a larger tax package from being part of the Senate energy bill.
The White House has threatened to veto the House package.
Grassley said the key to an agreement on an energy package is for Democrats to scale back oil and gas company tax incentives that would be affected and to add incentives for coal-to-liquids production.
Democratic leaders as late as last week indicated they would try to get an energy agreement vote this week before leaving for Thanksgiving.
But there is no indication that will occur. House Energy and Commerce Energy and Air Quality Subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher, D-Va., told reporters Tuesday that if Democratic leaders move energy legislation to the floor this week "major components ... would not be a part of the package."
Democratic leaders are considering whether to move some pieces of a package now -- such as higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards for cars and light trucks and a renewable fuels mandate -- and some later.
....By Darren Goode