Press Release of Senator Ensign
ENSIGN BILL ENCOURAGES DEVELOPMENT OF RENEWABLE ENERGY
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Washington, D.C. – Senator John Ensign, along with Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), led a bipartisan group of senators today to announce a bill to encourage the development of renewable energy and expand energy efficiency in buildings, homes and appliances.
“Satisfying our energy needs and reducing our reliance on foreign sources is a challenge that we must meet, but that can only happen with the right incentives in place,” said Ensign. “Our bipartisan bill will help put us on a path toward energy independence with American ingenuity leading the way.”
The Clean Energy Tax Stimulus Act of 2008, authored by Ensign and Cantwell, extends incentives to encourage renewable energy. Extending the placed-in-service deadline through 2009 for the Production Tax Credit encourages electricity production using renewable energy resources such as geothermal, wind, biomass, hydropower facilities and much more. These renewable energy plants will have valuable tax stability for 10 years.
Extending the solar and fuel cell Investment Tax Credit for eight years also encourages tremendous development of these technologies.
“Some remarkable energy projects have come online, and with the right tax incentives, they will thrive and help meet our growing energy demands,” said Ensign. “If Congress continues to drag its feet, many projects across the country will be a sad reminder of potential that was never met.”
“We have an opportunity to break the stalemate in the Senate,” Ensign added. “Especially at a time when our economy is struggling, we should not be increasing taxes to pay for incentives. These incentives are necessary for our energy security and to help jumpstart our economy.”
Studies have shown that the Production Tax Credit and Investment Tax Credit for renewable energy projects would help create 120,000 employment opportunities and bring almost $20 billion in economic investment into the country.
Ensign and Cantwell’s bill has 6 Democratic cosponsors and 14 GOP cosponsors in total.
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Hello:
Yesterday there was a Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC) Teleconference involving business executives from Morgan Stanley, HSH Nordbank, and Lazard Capital Markets. Taking the opportunity to voice their support for the ITC, they strongly encouraged Congress to pass this critical tax credit to ensure the industry’s future growth. This teleconference was in preparation for the Senate’s upcoming vote on the ITC in the next couple of days.
Passing the Word...
Brian Willis
------ NEWS RELEASE ------
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Contacts: Monique Hanis, 202-682-0556, ext. 4, mhanis@seia.org
Mark Sokolove, 703-302-8382, mark@tigercomm.us
Financial Executives Call on Congress to
Extend Pending Solar Tax Credits
Wall Street and Venture Capital firms report on growth of solar market and
stress importance of Tax Credit for Investor Confidence and Industry Growth
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, a group of bankers and analysts from Wall Street investment firms and venture capitalist firms called on Congress to pass an eight-year extension of the solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), that is set to expire at the end of 2008, stressing its importance in building investor confidence and stimulating industry growth.
The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on legislation to provide for a long-term extension of the ITC (S. 2821, the Clean Energy Stimulus Act of 2008) as early as this week.
Since the solar ITC was established as part of the 2005 energy bill, the solar energy industry has grown at a rate of more than 40 percent per year. Utilities and solar energy companies have announced plans for numerous projects to provide utility-scale solar power to states from Florida to Nevada. On the commercial and residential side, energy users from military bases, retail stores and homeowners have added solar energy generation to their land and buildings. But investors are worried that if the ITC is allowed to expire at the end of 2008, rapid progress made within the industry could slow to a halt.
"We believe solar projects will become cost effective in the future without the federal tax credits," said Edward Levin, vice president of global structure products at Morgan Stanley, "But the current federal tax incentives are still vital for industry growth and continued investor confidence. The tax incentives need to be extended to avoid a market interruption that could significantly set back U.S. solar development."
"The ITC is serving as an important building block for solar energy's migration into mainstream electricity markets," said Sanjay Shrestha, managing director of equity research in alternative energy at Lazard Capital Markets. "If extended, the ITC will accelerate project activity, helping the U.S. evolve into one of the most pivotal solar markets in the world."
The solar ITC has been scored to cost approximately $700 million over the course of ten years. This amounts to less than 1 percent of the $40 billion in subsidies that fossil fuels energy companies receive every year. On March 25, CNN reported that with the proper investment incentives, renewable energy could stimulate as many as three million new jobs over the next two decades.
Ed Sproull, senior vice president of energy at HSH Nordbank, predicted that "with an extension of the solar ITC, solar development will continue to accelerate because it makes economic sense to investors."
"Without [the ITC], we risk seeing the steady progression of investment grind to a halt, threatening job growth, tax revenue generation, and energy independence in the process," said Nancy Pfund, managing partner, DBL Investors. "Most importantly, we need ... to continue backing those that invest in solar improvements so that costs come down and financing products can be developed to make solar accessible to all."
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