Author Archives: Environment and Energy Daily

Tax writers warm to giving renewables parity with fossil fuels

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(Photo by David Ingram via Creative Commons)

(Photo by David Ingram via Creative Commons)

©2013 E&E Publishing, LLC
Republished with permission

By Nick Juliano

A proposal to allow renewable energy developers to take advantage of a tax structure that has long been popular among fossil fuel companies is gaining traction among lawmakers tasked with overhauling the tax code.

Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), who is leading a working group examining energy tax provisions, praised the idea of opening master limited partnerships (MLPs) to renewable energy companies. The structures have been popular among oil and gas, pipeline and coal companies as a way to attract investors, but current law does not allow renewable companies like wind and solar developers to use them.

Legislation allowing wind, solar and other renewable energy companies to establish MLPs will be reintroduced in the House and Senate later this month, and the idea has emerged as a key focus of the renewable energy industry and policy watchers as Congress pursues its overhaul of the tax code. →

EPA official: Carbon rules for existing power plants ‘on the table’ in 2014

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(Photo by Michael M. via Creative Commons)

(Photo by Michael M. via Creative Commons)

©2013 E&E Publishing, LLC
Republished with permission

By Jean Chemnick

Acting U.S. EPA Administrator Bob Perciasepe said on a call with reporters Wednesday that the agency would collaborate with states to curb greenhouse gases from existing power plants in an effort that would start in fiscal 2014.

On the call to discuss EPA’s new budget proposal, Perciasepe said the agency continues to review comments on its proposed new source performance standard for future power plants. The agency faces a statutory deadline Saturday to finalize the rule, but EPA hasn’t sent it yet to the Office of Management and Budget for review.

When the new power plants rule is finished, Perciasepe said, EPA looks forward to “working with states on existing sources, but we’re not there yet.”

He added, “But that’s certainly something that will be on the table in this next fiscal year.” →

Wind tax credit debate simmers amid ongoing ‘fiscal cliff’ talks

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A wind farm near Ainsworth, Nebraska. (Photo by Jerry W. Lewis via Creative Commons)

©2012 E&E Publishing, LLC
Republished with permission

By Nick Juliano

The ongoing war of words over the “fiscal cliff” that intensified this week left unanswered one of the most important questions for energy watchers: What will happen to a suite of expired or expiring tax credits?

The debate over those incentives, including the wind production tax credit and subsidies to promote energy efficiency and alternative fuels, has largely simmered on the back burner amid the broader debate over across-the-board tax hikes and spending cuts scheduled to take effect in January. That is still the case, although observers continue to believe they have a good chance of being included in a year-end cliff package, if there is one. →