Gary Kaye, Publisher Zero Energy News
All signs now point to Congress calling it quits without passing tax credits for renewable energy including wind and solar power. Unless Congress takes action, the existing tax credits for solar and large scale wind will expire at the end of the year. The current proposals that have been approved in various stages, include tax credits for small scale wind for the first time.
At a time when every one of us is being whacked by soaring energy prices, the failure of Congress to move ahead with incentives to promote renewable energy development is nothing short of astonishing. Our economy is in a shambles. Home building has ground to a halt. Yet, there is clear anecdotal evidence from across the country that energy efficient homes, especially those using active renewables such as PV or wind turbines, are selling much faster than traditional stick built homes.
In terms of large scale renewables, companies are poised to make billions of dollars in investments in both concentrated solar and large scale wind. These are technologies that will almost certainly reduce energy costs in coming years, while the costs of fossil fuels are just as certain to keep rising. Many of these investments will be placed on hold if Congress fails to act. Thousands, perhaps millions of jobs that could be created by the growth of renewable energy, in areas from solar panel manufacturing to the erecting of wind turbines will be delayed. Our unemployment rate is climbing. This could be a partial solution. Yet Congress feuds over minor details.
To its credit, the House of Representatives passed a comprehensive energy bill, including the extension of these tax credits, only days after it was introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The bottleneck, as it has been for months, is in the Senate, where a small minority has held the measure hostage over issues of how its going to be paid for. C'mon guys. You're spending billions every month in Iraq. You're talking about a seven hundred billion dollar bailout for our financial institutions. And you can't agree on tax credits that will help us take a major step towards energy independence, create American jobs, and even help reinvigorate the moribund home building industry? Wake up.
It may be too late to save the tax credits before the next Congress comes in and has to start the process all over again. Maybe not. Sure your representative is trying to figure out what to do about the bailout bill. But these days they need to multitask. I urge you to get ahold of your Senators, your representatives, and tell them now is the time to resolve the impasse in favor of the American people. Period. There's just too much at stake.
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