Federal Solar ITC Campaign
10/03/08 BIG UPDATE!
It is finally time to celebrate. Congress just passed a long-term extension of the solar investment tax credit. An 8-year extension of both the commercial solar tax credit and the residential solar tax credit (with removal of the monetary cap), passed the Senate (74-24) on Thursday and the House (263-171) this afternoon. The ITC, and other clean energy tax incentives, were rolled into the economic stabilization package. The President is set to sign the bill into law shortly.
It's been a long road and we want to thank each of you for adding your voice to this campaign; the consistent public pressure saved this credit. We also want to give props to the hard working folks at the solar energy industries association who walked the halls of Congress day in and day for two years rallying support for this vital tax credit. Thanks to all of you over 440,000 jobs will be created in the solar field in the next 8 years, and over $232 billion of investment will be pumped into our economy. Now that's economic stimulus.
FAQs
Q: When will the new 30% residential ITC (without the cap) go into effect?
A: January 1, 2009
Q: When will utilities be able to claim the ITC?
A: As soon as the bill is signed into law. So now.
Q: Will commercial customers now be able to claim the ITC against the AMT?
A: Yes
10/02/08
Yesterday the entirety of H.R. 6049, as passed by the Senate on 9/23, was added to the bailout package (aka the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008) that will be voted on this evening in the Senate. So now the clean energy tax incentives are tied to a $700 billion bail out package; not exactly the vehicle we expected to be part of. The bill will likely pass the Senate, but its prospects are unclear in the House. Stay tuned.
9/29/08
Sigh. And the impasse continues. Since the last update we have had some high and low moments. First the high: on 9/23, after some serious bi-partisan maneuverings, the Senate passed H.R. 6049 (including a 8-year residential and commercial ITC, with a removal of the residential cap) by a vote of 93 to 2. The Senate warned that this package, in its entirety, was the only package that could pass the Senate. Senator Ensign (R-NV) put it bluntly: "If the House does not pass the [Senate] bill, it's dead, it's dead for the year.”
Then, instead of taking up the full Senate version, the House decided to take the bill apart and debate each issue in the bill separately (clean energy tax incentives, alternative minimum tax relief for middle class families, disaster tax relief, and on and on). This was a low point, a very low point. Because even though the House approved a stand-alone package of renewable energy tax incentives extensions by a vote of 257-166 it was obvious that this stand-alone, fully paid for strategy (tried 5 times now) would die in the Senate.
While both the Senate and House packages create and extend various energy incentives, there are key differences. For example the House plan was fully offset at the insistence of House Democrats, and the Senate package was only partially paid for as part of a delicate bipartisan compromise that allowed the bill to advance after months of stalemate.
Today the House announced that they will adjourn for a short recess and will come back October 2. We are hopeful that they will immediately get back to work on this now incredibly time-sensitive issue. At a press conference today Majority Leader Hoyer said he will continue to work with Senator Reid to see what can be done with regard to energy and other tax extenders "even if it's next year." Next year Rep. Hoyer is too late.
9/15/08
Legislation is moving in both the House and Senate that includes an 8-year extension of the solar investment tax credit. Check out the House tax extender package, and the Senate's option. The politics is still looking ugly, but we are working hard to get the ITC across the finish line.
Click here to read about Vote Solar's recent trip to Washington D.C.
* If you want to see a sweet slideshow of the rally check out SuperForest.org's blog posting of the day.
Click here to take action on the ITC.
7/30/08
It's been a disappointing week thus far in Washington for the expiring clean energy tax incentives. On Tuesday, July 29, Senator Reid brought up H.R. 6049 again, to test the political waters for S. 3335. That cloture vote (motion to proceed to debate and a full floor vote on the bill) was lost by 53-43, marking the third failed vote on the bill in the past two months.
Then yesterday, July 29, Senator Reid brought up a cloture vote on S. 3335, introduced last week by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT). The vote failed by 51-43.
The White House issued a veto threat on S. 3335 before the vote, and Republican senators are justifying votes against cloture as a move to keep the Senate focused on an oil drilling bill instead. This 'oil speculation' bill would lift the moratorium on off-shore oil drilling and open federal lands to oil shale exploration.
We urge you to continue voicing your support for immediate extension of the clean energy tax credits.
7/28/08
As early as tomorrow, your Senators will vote on S. 3335, which includes an 8 year extension of the commercial and residential solar tax credit, and doubles the residential cap to $4,000. Please call or email your Senators today to turn up the heat, and get this thing done.
S. 3335 is a sweet deal, devised by Senate Democrats to include bi-partisan must-pass provisions, such as tax relief for families and businesses affected by natural disasters this year in the Midwest and West, and an exemption on the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) for middle- income families. We believe that Senators will be hard-pressed to justify a vote against this bill, but we need to show them that their constituents --you-- are holding them accountable.
6/10/08
HR 6049 failed to move to the full floor of the Senate for a vote. The motion to invoke cloture, or to proceed to the full vote, was defeated by 50 to 44 vote.
If you want to make some noise in the media about this protracted debate click here. It will only take 3 minutes we promise!
5/21/08
HR 6049, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008 (summary here, pdf), passed out of the House by a 263 to 160 vote. Roll call here.
5/20/08 -- NATIONAL DAY OF ACTION ON CLEAN ENERGY TAX INCENTIVES
On May 20 Vote Solar organized a national day of action on clean energy. We flooded the Senate with calls and emails requesting immediate extension of expiring clean energy tax credits. Over 100 different organizations and companies participated and well over 100,000 people contacted their Senators.
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