Energy industry applauds budget legislation but calls for longer-term commitments, parity between tax measures

Industry groups reacted recently to the signing into law of the budget legislation, which includes extensions of energy-efficiency tax incentives, clean energy tax provisions, and the nuclear production tax credit (PTC).

Alliance to Save Energy Vice President of Government Affairs and Communications Ben Evans released a statement, commending the extension of three energy efficiency tax incentives but calling for a longer-term commitment.

“It’s not just about reducing energy waste,” Evans said. “These incentives have significant ripple effects throughout the economy in terms of creating construction and manufacturing jobs, reducing demand on strained utility grids, putting more money in the pockets of business and consumers, and significantly reducing harmful emissions. It’s just smart policy, and we need to continue them or we’re missing a huge opportunity.”

The budget includes one-year, retroactive extensions for various clean energy tax measures including the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for biogas, biomass, active geothermal, waste to energy, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic. It included a five-year extension with a phase-down for several technologies that are eligible for the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) including fiber-optic solar, fuel cells, small wind energy, microturbines and combined heat and power.

“BCSE is pleased that Congress has enacted clean energy tax provisions as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act this week,” Business Council for Sustainable Energy (BCSE) President Lisa Jacobson, said. “However, the lack of parity between clean energy tax measures continues to hinder investment and job creation in a number of sectors that contribute to a diverse, reliable and affordable energy system.”

The bill also extends the nuclear PTC. It allows new nuclear reactors placed in service after Dec. 31, 2020 to qualify for the nuclear PTC, enables the secretary of energy to allocate credits up to a 6,000 megawatt capacity limit for the first “new nuclear” reactors placed in service after Dec. 31, 2020, and permits public-entity project partners to transfer their credits to other project partners.

Obtaining the extension was essential to completing construction of the two Westinghouse AP1000 reactors at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant in Georgia and will benefit NuScale Power LLC’s small modular reactor design in Idaho, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) President and CEO Maria Korsnick said.

“The bipartisan vote by both houses of Congress to allow new reactors to receive the nuclear production tax credit also was a vote for continued American leadership in nuclear energy, environmental stewardship and thousands of jobs,” Korsnick said.