Newest effort to extend renewable tax credits is quick fix tied to housing bill in Senate

Congressional Round-up: The Senate is expected to approve any day an amendment to the housing bill that would extend tax credits for renewable energy and efficiency. The $6 billion amendment by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and John Ensign (R-Nev.) is an effort to provide short-term extensions for the credits that will expire this year. The amendment provides:
• a 1-year extension of the renewable power production credit
• an 8-year extension of the solar energy investment tax credit
• 1- and 2-year extensions on credits for building efficiency and some energy-efficient appliances.
Because of opposition in the Senate to paying for the credits by repealing benefits on oil and gas, this amendment shows no balancing source of revenue. That could cause problems in the House, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has said she wants to adhere to a pay-as-you-go rule. The House in February passed a much larger bill that included oil tax credit repeal, but it was narrowly rejected by the Senate and the White House threatened to veto it. A veto could be a problem here as well, because President Bush has problems with the housing bill to which it would be attached. In case this doesn’t work out, Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus (D-Mont.) is busy preparing yet another alternative energy tax package. Renewable energy companies have been lobbying hard, fearful that the tax breaks fueling their boom will go away. Renewables need all the help they can get to make a dent in the nation's dependency on carbon-emitting fossil fuels.(E&E News PM)

Bill asks halt to new coal plants

(Photo of coal plant in Sauget, Ill., from Flickr and photographer Jay Dugger.)

Congressional Round-up: Sens. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have introduced a bill creating a moratorium on new coal-fired utility plants unless they can capture and sequester 80% of their greenhouse gas emissions. They see the bill as a stop-gap until an economy-wide global warming law caps GHG at 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. There are 47 plants in the permitting process or under construction across the U.S., with another 67 on the drawing boards. Uncertainty about the future and environmentalists’ objections have put a stop to a number of plants that were planned. (E&E New PM)

The Bush Administration ignored an EPA recommendation several months ago to increase fuel economy in autos because CO2 is bad for public health. See washingtonpost.com

Global warming deniers will lobby Congress against regulating greenhouse gases, said Joe Bast, of the Heartland Institute, organizer of a deniers’ convention earlier this month. He vowed a strong campaign against cap-and-trade legislation. The deniers don’t believe that human activity and GHG cause climate change. (Greenwire)

Senators slammed EPA’s new ozone regs and plans to change the Clean Air Act this week. They said the mandate for reduced ground-level ozone didn’t go far enough and will let many counties off the hook in forcing power plants and autos to reduce emissions. EPA also wants to change the Clean Air Act so decision-makers will be able to consider costs, benefits, risk trade-offs and feasibility in making decisions under the act. (E&E Daily, Greenwire)

Fate of renewables lies with Senate

Congressional Round-up: Under pressure from more than 100 businesses, trade groups and environmentalists, the Senate continues to look for a way to extend tax credits for renewable energy and efficiency. The House has twice passed a bill extending the credits, due to expire at the end of the year, but both time the Senate fell 1 vote short of the 60 needed to avert a filibuster. Some GOP senators and the White House don’t so much object to extending the credits as they dislike the means of paying for them – rolling back tax incentives for oil companies. Senators were looking at the budget reconciliation bill as a way to extend the credits with the money coming from somewhere else, but that fell through this week. Options left include getting that extra vote (how about you, Sen. McCain?) or finding some other way to pay for it. GE and BP both added their voices to the call for extension. Both have investments in wind energy. Advocates say the extensions would create new jobs and help lower the cost of energy. Without them alternative energy projects are at risk, and investment is already slowing down. (Source: E&E Daily)

Two reps unveil bill to force EPA to grant tailpipe waiver
Reps. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) were to introduce a bill Thursday to force the EPA to grant a waiver that would give California and 12 others states authority to implement their tailpipe emissions bills. The EPA’s denial of the waiver “defied science, defied the states, and defied common sense,” Welch said. Called the Right to Clean Vehicles Act, the bill had 42 co-sponsors Wednesday, most of them Democrats. Call and ask your Congressman to add his/her name (202-224-3121). Senate Environment Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced an identical bill (S. 2555) in the Senate more than a month ago and has said she will subpoena communications between the EPA and White House on the matter, to see if there was undue influence. The EPA director clearly ignored his staff’s opinion in refusing the waiver. Meanwhile 15 states have filed suit to have the EPA decision overturned. (Source: E&E News PM)

Dingell issues white paper on pre-emption of state auto rules
Two leaders of the House Energy Committee have raised a concern about state and local global warming laws, acknowledging they have led the way, but saying a federal law may have to pre-empt them. Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), Energy Committee chair, and Rick Boucher (D-Va.), say that a patchwork of global warming laws could cause job loss in states that don’t have them, especially in the auto industry, which Dingell champions. The “patchwork” includes a tailpipe emissions law passed by California and 12 other states (currently blocked by the EPA), global warming emissions laws by California, Hawaii, Maine, Minn., N.J. and Ohio, emissions trading by regional groups involving 39 states, and several governors who have set emissions targets. In addition, more than 800 cities and villages have committed to meeting the Kyoto requirements of cutting GHG 7% below 1990 levels by 2012. The states, the two say, will probably need to do the monitoring, pass building codes and plan for land-use. The white paper, one of several related to global warming, is meant to stir debate of the issue and doesn’t offer specific answers, the authors said. (Source: Greenwire)

New renewable tax-credit bill in House

Congressional Round-up: The House last week introduced a bill to extend production tax credits, funded in part by the repeal of oil tax benefits. The credits are due to expire at the end of the year, causing uncertainty for renewable energy industries. This bill is very similar to the one passed last summer by the House, but stifled in the Senate by 1 vote. It’s questionable whether the bill could pass the Senate in its current form. It includes:
• Extension of credits for wind, biomass, geothermal, small hydroelectric, landfill gas and trash combustion facilities through 2011, with a cap of 35% of the cost after 2009,
• Extension of solar energy and fuel cell investment tax credits for eight years,
• An end to deduction eligibility for the 5 larges oil companies,
• A 6% cap on benefits for smaller oil companies,
• A new credit for plug-in hybrid cars,
• Extension of tax credits for domestically produced cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel,
• A request that the National Academy of Sciences analyze current science on the production of biofuels and the domestic impact of a dramatic increase.

Proposal would allow power plants near national parks
Rep. Henry Waxman, (D-Calif.), chair of the House Oversight Committee, has urged the EPA to reject a proposal that would make it easier to build power plants near national parks. Waxman told EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson the proposed change in the New Source Review rules would violate the Clean Air Act. He said EPA technical experts acknowledged the change would allow “significant degradation” of the air in parks and national wilderness areas. He gave Johnson until March 5 to say why he ignored the advice of his staff. (Source: E&E News PM)

e-mailbag: Bob R. of Chicago writes, “Despite his admitted support and even sponsorship of environmental legislation, [John] McCain has too many constraints related to his conservative perception of reality to lead the nation effectively against the onslaught of global warming.”

Renewable tax credits in Senate stimulus bill

Congressional Round-up: A Senate version of the economic stimulus package, with the addition of green jobs and renewable tax credits, was approved 14-7 by the Finance Committee yesterday. It could go to the floor for a vote any time now, so call your Senators right way at (202)224-3121 and tell them to vote for it. The short-term extension of renewable tax credits is sorely needed because they are due to expire the end of this year. While about 30 Senators are pushing for multi-year extension of the tax credits, to assure investment continues to grow, Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said this is a good start. Clean energy bonds are part of the bill, as well. The House version does not include renewable incentives. (E&E News PM, Sierra Club)

Boxer introduces bill to override EPA on California
Senate Environment Chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced a bill Wednesday to overturn the EPA’s refusal to grant California a waiver to enforce its tailpipe-emissions law. S. 2555 directs the EPA to grant the state’s request. Co-sponsors include Democratic Presidential Candidates Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama, as well as Sens. Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Susan Collins (R-Me.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R-R.I.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Me.) If your senators aren’t both on this list, call them right away at (202)224-3121 and urge them to sign on. So far, 17 states have either passed or are in the process of adopting it the California law, so they too are blocked by the EPA decision. (Sierra Club)

Big Coal runs ads in key primary campaign states
Elections: As state regulators and environmental groups object to new coal plants, an organization backed by the coal industry and electric utilities is responding by running a $3.5 million campaign in key primary and caucus states. Americans for Balanced Energy Choices spent $1.3 million in advertising in Iowa, Nevada and South Carolina to put coal in a more favorable light. The message is that coal can be clean, it is needed to meet the country's energy needs, and more plants should be built. The ads talk about low-sulfur coal, carbon sequestration and better environmental controls and sometimes are vague about carbon emissions versus other pollutants. (Washington Post, Greenwire)

Enviro groups give guidance on how to vote Super Tuesday
Who ya gonna vote for for state rep? It could make a big difference as we depend more heavily on state legislatures to push ahead on renewable electricity standards, clean car bills and carbon emissions targets, filling the void left by the feds. Get some guidance on them and congressional candidates from your local chapter of the League of Conservation Voters or Sierra Club, both of which endorse candidates. In Illinois, where many of my readers live, a journalism grad student at Northwestern’s Medill School, Josephine Lee, has written a story about the endorsements here, including a list of those who received both groups’ approval. Also you may want to check back to my post in early January to see presidential candidates' views. (see archives at right, click on last item on January list).

Rep. Dingell: Cap-and-trade unlikely this year

Congressional round-up: House Energy Chair John Dingell (D-Mich.) told E&E Daily this week that passing a global warming bill this election year is “on the verge of impossible.” With all House seats up, the election will be a “terrible distraction,” said the octogenarian, who will take the lead in drafting a House cap-and-trade bill. He indicated he is likely to include pre-emption of stronger state legislation. Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) chair of the Energy and Air Quality subcommittee, said cap-and-trade will produce new jobs, spur new technology and produce a flood of exports. Ranking minority subcommittee member Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.), however, sees a loss of jobs and costs to the economy. (Source: E&E News PM)

Stimulus package not likely place for renewable credits
With the expiration of tax incentives looming for solar, wind and other renewable energy, trade groups and environmental organizations see an opportunity for inclusion in an economy stimulus package. But Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus said this week that is unlikely. He agrees the incentives need to be extended, or investment and renewable energy projects will slow down, but sees it in a separate package of bills. Senate Energy Chair Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said the credits need to be extended soon, but that the stimulus package is not the best vehicle. (Source: E&E News PM)

Dems put climate change high on agenda

Congressional round-up: Action on Global Warming is among the Democrats’ top three House goals for this election year, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said this week. It was listed along with the economy and national security/terrorism as main issues for Congress to address. (E&E Daily)

Dem leaders will try again for renewable energy incentives and a renewable electricity standard (RES) like the one that stalled in the Senate in December. The incentives are high priority because most expire at the end of the year and without them, the wind, solar and other clean-energy industries would falter. Last time wind incentives were allowed to lapse, it caused a downturn in business. It is unclear what vehicle might carry the incentives – possibly an economic stimulus package. (E&E Daily)

Auto industry champion Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) wants to exempt auto companies from the proposed cap-at-trade bill now in Congress, he told reporters at the Detroit Auto Show. The auto industry is doing its part to cut greenhouse gases under the Energy Bill passed in December, he said. CAFE standards in that bill will require cutting CO2 tailpipe emissions 40%, he said. Dingell, as chair of the House Energy Committee, will have a lot to say about the legislation. He also agreed with the EPA’s denial of a waiver to let California and 12 other states curb tailpipe emissions more than the federal law requires. (E&E Daily)