Solar Energy Tax Credit Sneaks into Bailout Bill
The big story over the last few weeks has been the economy and how the billion dollar bailout package would help lift our struggling stock market. Whether you agree completely over this bailout package, one good thing that came out of it was an extension to the renewable energy tax credits that have been neglected by Congress over the past year. Many believe that this tax credit is key to continued growth of wind, solar and new alternative energy sources. It allows emerging technologies such as wind energy to become a more financial viable option.
As mentioned in a previous article, Arizona would have had the most to lose if this tax credit were not passed. The Solana Generating Station is a proposed solar power plant by a Spanish company called Abengoa Solar. The plant was projected to be built by 2011 and could provide a large portion of Arizona’s energy. The company said that the only way for the project to be economical for them would be for the tax credits. Arizona was worried earlier in the Summer that they could lose this project to another country where more support could be provided for alternative energy sources.
The bailout bill contains an 8 year extension on the 30% solar tax credits that are already in place. With an estimated 60,000 employees working in the solar energy industry, this extension will provide a huge boost. The bill also provides a 1 year extension on the tax credits for smaller sources of energy such as wind, geothermal, hydro-power and many others. The passing of this bill could make an enormous impact on the renewable energy industry and continue to move our country in the right direction.
