To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
On April 21, 2021, U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and 24 Democratic senators introduced the Clean Energy for America Act, which proposes to consolidate the current energy tax incentives available under the Internal Revenue Code.
Currently, the Internal Revenue Code provides a patchwork of energy tax incentives that feature several temporary provisions with differing rules and expirations, provides different incentive levels for technologies with similar emission profiles, and omits several new and emerging technologies. If enacted, the bill would create a more streamlined set of long-term, performance-based energy tax incentives that are technology-neutral and would promote clean energy in the United States.
The Clean Energy for America Act, introduced by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) in April 2021, takes vital steps toward streamlining the tax code and making clean energy tax credits more effective and accessible. This bill proposes replacing the more than 40 existing clean energy tax credits with three categories of technology-neutral tax credits to incentivize clean electricity, clean transportation and energy efficient homes and commercial buildings.
While this legislation is a step in the right direction, more can be done to improve upon the proposal and existing clean energy tax credits. Doing so would ensure that tax credits reach their full potential as an essential part of the United States’ actions to reduce emissions.
Federal Clean Energy Tax Credits
Federal tax credits for renewable energy have proven to be an effective near-term policy, delivering significant economic benefits across the United States, yet Congress has historically put these benefits in jeopardy by allowing the tax credits to lapse. New analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) of clean energy tax credit provisions in congressional bills demonstrates how a long-term extension of these tax credits would be good for both the economy and the environment.
In combination with state clean energy policies, federal tax credits have driven growth in the US wind and solar industries, created new jobs, lowered costs, and provided important climate and public health benefits by reducing emissions from fossil fuels (Clemmer 2017). They have also helped renewables compete with fossil fuels, which have benefited from large, decades-long federal subsidies and market prices that do not reflect many of the “external” costs of burn
Additional Policies Needed to Achieve Carbon-Free Electricity by 2035 Published Apr 29, 2021
As Congress considers legislation that would extend and expand tax credits for the development of low- and zero-carbon energy, a new analysis by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) compares how the various incentives would help fight climate change by reducing carbon emissions from the U.S. power sector.
“We found that federal tax credits are an effective tool and smart investment for boosting the deployment of renewable electricity that will provide health and economic benefits across the country,” said Steve Clemmer, director of energy research and analysis for UCS. “At the same time, more ambitious policies are necessary to achieve President Biden’s goal of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2035 and to ensure a just and equitable transition to a clean-energy economy.”
To embed, copy and paste the code into your website or blog:
Over the past number of weeks, a variety of legislative proposals, from both sides of the aisle, have been released that, if enacted, could drastically impact the US energy industry and, in many cases, the taxation of energy in the United States. These proposals come on the heels of the Biden administration’s
American Jobs Plan and Made in America Tax Plan. Legislative proposals related to energy continue to be released at a rapid pace, and below we highlight certain features from several recent proposals.
Clean Energy for America Act, which was released on April 21, 2021, by Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and 24 colleagues, would overhaul the federal energy tax code. The proposal consolidates current energy tax incentives into emissions-based provisions designed to incentivize energy efficiency, clean transportation and clean electricity. The bill, if enacted, would consolidate 40 energy tax incentiv