A number of solar, wind and other renewable energy trade organizations as well as environmental groups had lobbied for the extension of the incentive program, known as the US Dept. of Treasury’s Section 1603 program, arguing that it had been vital to the early growth of America’s renewable energy sector.
Simply explained, the program offers renewable energy entrepreneurs money grants worth up to 30 percent of the cost of building new facilities in lieu of an investment tax credit.
The program was established in the 2009 economic stimulus package after lenders who had been supporting the renewable energy sector abruptly abandoned it amid the global financial crisis.
The extension of the program was an eleventh hour addition to the tax bill -- a controversial last bit of business before the outgoing Democratically-controlled Congress – by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a longtime supporter of the renewable energy sector.
According to the U.S. Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance, the extension will create or preserve 100,000 jobs.
The Solar Energy Industries Association also applauded the Senate’s approval of the extension, saying its positive economic benefits will be felt in every state in the union.
“An extension will help the solar industry remain one of the fastest growing industries in America and create thousands of new careers,” the association said in a statement. “With passage now complete in the Senate, it is critical that the House moves swiftly to pass this bill and send to the President for his signature. Tens of thousands of jobs depend on it.”
The tax bill also includes a one-year extension of a tax credit for the ethanol industry. The program provides a 45-cent subsidy for every gallon of ethanol blended into gasoline.
In the US House, Rep. Lloyd Doggett, a Texas Democrat, has said he will call for the last-minute addition of the program extension in the House version of the bill. So far, at least 30 other House members have said they would support the measure.
For additional information:
US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid
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