You are here:
Calendar
There are no upcoming events currently scheduled.
View Full Calendar
President Signs ITCs/PTCs PDF Print E-mail
The President has signed the Economic Stabilization Act. Inlcuded in the act were:

Extension and Modification of Production Tax Credit
The bill extends the placed-in-service date for the Section 45 credit through December 31, 2009 in the case of wind and refined coal, and through December 31, 2010 in the case of other sources.The bill expands the types of facilities qualifying for the credit to new biomass facilities and to those that generate electricity from marine renewables (e.g., waves and tides).


The bill updates the definition of an open-loop biomass facility, the definition of a trash combustion facility, and the definition of a non-hydroelectric dam. The bill also increases emissions standards on the refined coal credit and removes its market value test. The estimated cost of this proposal is $5.817 billion over 10 years.

Long-term Extension of Energy Credit
The bill extends the 30% investment tax credit for solar energy property and qualified fuel cell property, as well as the 10% investment tax credit for microturbines, through 2016.  The bill increases the $500 per half kilowatt of capacity cap for qualified fuel cells to $1,500 per half kilowatt of capacity, and adds small commercial wind as a category of qualified investment.  The bill also provides a new 10% investment tax credit for combined heat and power systems and geothermal heat pumps.  The bill allows these credits to be used to offset the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The estimated cost of this proposal is $1.942 billion over 10 years.
 

Long-term Extension and Modification of the Residential Energy-Efficient Property Credit
The bill extends the credit for residential solar property for eight through 2016, and removes the credit cap (currently $2,000) for solar electric investments.  The bill adds residential small wind investment, capped at $4,000, and geothermal heat pumps, capped at $2,000, as qualifying property. The bill allows the credit to be used to offset the AMT. The estimated cost of this proposal is $1.294 billion over 10 years. 

Sales of Electric Transmission Property
The bill extends the present-law deferral of gain on sales of transmission property by vertically integrated electric utilities to FERC-approved independent transmission companies. Rather than recognizing the full amount of gain in the year of sale, this provision allows gain on such sales to be recognized ratably over an 8-year period.  The rule applies to sales before January 1, 2010. This proposal is estimated to be revenue-neutral over 10 years.

New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (“CREBs”)
The bill authorizes $800 million of new clean renewable energy bonds to finance facilities that generate electricity from wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, qualified hydropower, landfill gas, marine renewable and trash combustion facilities. This $800 million authorization is subdivided into thirds: 1/3 for qualifying projects of State/local/tribal governments; 1/3 for qualifying projects of public power providers; and 1/3 for qualifying projects of electric cooperatives. The bill also extends the termination date for existing CREBs by one year.  The estimated cost of this proposal is $267 million over 10 years.


Read the complete description in the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008.

 
< Prev   Next >
[ Back ]