Dive Brief:
- Clean energy advocates would like to see tax credits extended for a range of technologies, including fuel cells, microturbines and combined heat and power, but with just two weeks left in the current legislative session, time is running out for Congress to act.
- Morning Consult reports lawmakers are hesitant, but there is hope in the Senate where some bipartisan support for the credits exists. President Obama has indicated he would sign them, should the credits be included in legislation that reaches his desk.
- There is some belief, however, that the credits should be taken up in a broader tax bill rather than be included in the tax title of a spending bill Congress is considering.
Dive Insight:
Solar and wind energy had tax credits extended about a year ago, breathing new life into those clean energy sectors. Now, advocates would like to see the same happen for a wider range of technologies that include fuel cells, CHP and more.
But the lame duck session, particularly given President-elect Donald Trump's promises of support for fossil fuels, has created uncertainty. "Prior to the election [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell expressed an interest in moving the tax package," Arvin Ganesan, vice president of Advanced Energy Economy, told Utility Dive. "Where it goes depends on who it makes more sense to negotiate with."
If they are not approved in the remaining days, the tax credits could also be affirmed retroactively. Congress is scheduled to adjourn on Dec. 16. While there is a push to include a host of credits in the spending bill, lawmakers are also wary of packing it full of unrelated issues and endangering its passage. Some would like to see the tax extenders taken up more broadly as part of the U.S. tax code.
Just how much can be accomplished in the waning days of the Obama Presidency is the subject of debate. President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to revitalize the coal industry, for example, but also has said he does not intend to attack renewable energy and clean technologies.
There is also work being done to push through a bipartisan energy bill, though with waning time it may be a stripped-down version. The Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2015 would be the first bipartisan energy bill in almost a decade, but the House and Senate versions have been split by controversial provisions and the White House has previously threatened a veto.
Lawmakers have been working to combine the bills into one piece of legislation. Leadership in the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee reviewed the House's energy bill conference report, opting to restore some provisions that had been removed before sending back a new proposal last week.