Hill Heat: Tag energy efficiency

House Debating Oil-For-Renewables Package Today

The Cunctator — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:11:00 -0600

From the beginning of her tenure, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has attempted to pass legislation cutting billions in tax breaks and royalty payments to oil and gas companies to invest in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The legislation has died twice by a single vote in the Senate – in December as part of the energy bill (H.R. 6), and three weeks ago as part of the economic stimulus legislation (H.R. 5140).

House leadership announced plans to immediately reintroduce the legislation as a standalone bill, named the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2008 (H.R. 5351).

Debate on the bill is now taking place, with a final vote scheduled for some time after 3 PM EST.

Update: HR 5351 passed by a roll call vote of 236-182. 17 Republicans joined the Democratic majority; 8 Democrats (Barrow, Boren, Cuellar, Gene Green, Lampson, Melancon, Ortiz, Rodriguez) voted against passage.

CRS summary:

Extends: (1) the tax credit for production of electricity from renewable resources through 2011; (2) the energy tax credit for solar energy and fuel cell property through 2016; (3) the special rule for treatment of gain from electronic transmission transactions by certain electric utilities through 2009; (4) the tax credit for residential energy efficient property expenditures through 2014; (5) the tax credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property expenditures through 2010; (6) the tax credit for biodiesel and renewable diesel used as fuel through 2010; (7) the tax credit for nonbusiness energy property expenditures through 2009; and (8) the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings through 2013.
Allows new tax credits for: (1) investment in new clean renewable energy bonds and qualified energy conservation bonds; and (2) the production of plug-in hybrid motor vehicles, cellulosic alcohol fuel, and electricity from marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy sources.

Revises the definition of “passenger automobile” for purposes of the limitation on depreciation deductions.

Allows a tax exclusion for bicycle commuting reimbursements.

Revises certain tax incentives for investment in the New York Liberty Zone.

Revises tax credit amounts for certain energy efficient household appliances produced after 2007.

Allows a five-year recovery period for the depreciation of qualified energy management devices.

Places limits on the tax deduction for income attributable to the domestic production of oil, natural gas, and any related products.

Revises tax rules relating to foreign oil and gas extraction income and foreign produced fuel used or sold outside the United States.

McKinsey: Energy Efficiency Investment Offers Massive Returns

The Cunctator — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 11:03:00 -0600

At yesterday’s Investor Summit on Climate Risk, McKinsey’s economic research arm, the McKinsey Global Institute, released the report The Case for Investing in Energy Productivity (lead authors Jaana Remes and Diana Farrell).

The report finds that global investments on the order of $170 billion annually through 2020 ($38 billion in the US) in energy efficiency (what they call “energy productivity”) would deliver annual returns at a rate of 17 percent. Furthermore, these investments would reduce energy demand at half the cost of building out infrastructure to meet that demand. (For a sense of scale, $170 billion is 1.6 percent of global fixed-capital investment today.)

MGI finds some key energy-market failures that block the needed capital outlays:

Fuel subsidies that directly discourage productive energy use; a lack of information available to consumers about the kind of energy productivity choices that are available to them; and agency issues in high-turnover commercial businesses.

The report’s top-line recommendations for repairing these failures:

Set energy efficiency standards for appliances and equipment
Finance energy efficiency upgrades in new buildings and remodels (see Architecture 2030)
Raise corporate standards for energy efficiency
Invest in energy intermediaries (such as energy service companies aka ESCOs)

For more, read the full report.

House Plans to Resubmit Renewable Tax Package Stall

The Cunctator — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 17:09:00 -0600

Following the second one-vote defeat of the renewable tax package in the Senate last week, House leadership let slip they planned to re-introduce the oil-for-renewables legislation some time this week, for passage before the President’s Day recess.

Today Katherine Ling reports in E&E News that timeline is now in doubt:

The death of Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) and last-minute negotiations may delay House plans to take up a renewable energy tax incentive package later this week. Lantos died yesterday morning due to esophagus cancer complications. . .
The bill was expected to be introduced this morning, according to Matthew Beck, a spokesman for House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.). Beck said the committee was writing the bill but had not completed it yet as they were waiting for decisions from the leadership.

Senate Finance Committee Includes Green Jobs, Renewables In Stimulus Package

The Cunctator — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:39:00 -0600

In today’s executive session on the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, the Senate Finance Committee passed by a 14-7 vote a package that includes $5.6 billion in “green” incentives, including $400 million in new “clean renewable energy bonds”, a one-year extensions for:

the renewable electricity production credit
solar, fuel cell, and microturbine credits
energy-efficient building deductions and credits;

and two-year extensions for:

the high-efficiency appliances manufacturing credit
stripper well depreciation credit
energy-efficient home retrofitting credit

Full details are available here.

Last Friday, 33 senators sent a letter to the Committee leadership urging support for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and green jobs incentives.

According to the Sierra Club, by today the number of Senators was up to forty:

Senators who have expressed support for the inclusion of the renewable energy incentives include: Cantwell, Snowe, Wyden, Smith, Klobuchar, Kerry, Sununu, Sanders, Dole, Boxer, Johnson, Allard, Salazar, Mikulski, Stabenow, Murray, Dorgan, Brown, Bayh, Clinton, Collins, Specter, Menendez, Thune, Feingold, Dodd, Levin, Obama, Brownback, Coleman, Murkowski, Feinstein, Schumer, Stevens, Lautenberg, Leahy, Akaka, Kohl, Roberts, Grassley, Bingaman, and Domenici.

The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008

The Cunctator — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 14:30:00 -0600

Modification Energy Package part of package passed by committee.

Provision	Approx Cost (billions)
PTC (Sec. 45)	3.0
Solar (residential & business, including fuel cells, microturbines)	0.13
CREBs ($400m allocation)	0.2
Commercial buildings	0.15
Efficient homes (new)	0.06
(exp. 12/07) Efficient homes (existing)	1.5
(exp. 12/07) Efficient appliances	0.32
Percentage Depletion (marginal wells and stripper wells)	0.25
TOTAL	5.57

1. Production Tax Credit (Section 45). Extends placed-in-service deadline for qualifying electric generating facilities (wind, biomass, geothermal, etc.) for one year. Estimated cost is $3b/10.

2. Solar, fuel cell, microturbine credits (Sections 48 and 25D). Extends Section 48 (30% investment credit for solar and fuel cell property, 10% credit for microturbines) and Section 25D residential solar credit for one year. Cost is approx. $130m/10.

3. Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs). Provides $400m in new CREBs issuance, at estimated cost of $206m/10.

4. Appliances Manufacturer Credit. Extends manufacturer credit for high-efficiency appliances for two years through 2009, at cost of approximately $323m/10.

5. Energy-Efficient Existing Homes. Extends 10% investment tax credit for energy-efficient home retrofits (windows, heating and cooling equipment, etc.) through 2009, at estimated cost of $1.5b/10.

6. Energy-efficient Commercial Buildings: Extends deduction for energy-efficient commercial buildings for one year, at estimated cost of $153m/10.

7. Energy-efficient New Homes. Extends credit for energy-efficient new homes for one year, at estimated cost of $61m/10.

8. Percentage depletion for marginal wells. Extends suspension on the taxable income limit for purposes of depreciating a marginal oil or gas well through 2009, at estimated cost of $247m/10.

Bright Lights in the Cities: Pathways to an Energy-Efficient Future

The Cunctator — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 14:30:00 -0500

The Select Committee on Energy Independence & Global Warming will hold a hearing on Friday November 2, at 2:30 p.m. in the Olympic Room at the Edgewater Hotel in Seattle, Washington. The hearing is entitled, “Bright Lights in the Cities: Pathways to an Energy-Efficient Future.” Witnesses will be by invitation only.

Witnesses

Mayor Bloomberg, City of New York
Mayor Diaz, City of Miami, Florida
Mayor Nickels, City of Seattle, Washington
Mayor Palmer, City of Trenton, New Jersey
Mayor Villaraigosa, City of Los Angeles, CA

House Passes Energy Storage and Industrial Energy Efficiency Bills

The Cunctator — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 20:29:00 -0500

The House passed HR 3775 and 3776 today, both authored in the House Committee on Science and Technology.

Rep. Bart Gordon’s (D-TN) H.R. 3776, the Energy Storage Technology Advancement Act of 2007, provides for research, development, and demonstration programs to accelerate the development of advanced energy storage systems for vehicular, stationary, and electricity transmission and distribution applications, and support the ability of the United States to remain globally competitive in this field.

Endorsing groups include the Edison Electric Institute, American Electric Power, the Electric Drive Transportation Association, Johnson Controls, and Southern California Edison.

Rep. Nick Lampson’s (D-TX), H.R. 3775, the Industrial Energy Efficiency Research and Development Act of 2007, authorizes and supports research, development, demonstration, and commercial application of new industrial processes and technologies that will optimize energy efficiency, environmental performance, and economic competitiveness of energy intensive industries. It also enhances ongoing efforts through better coordination of interdepartmental research, and expands Industrial Assessment Centers programs at universities to promote student training and adoption of energy efficient technologies and practices by small and medium-sized industries.

The budget for Industrial Technologies Program has decreased dramatically in recent years. The Fiscal Year 2007 budget request for Industrial Technologies was $45.6 million, an $11.3 million reduction from the Fiscal Year 2006 Appropriation. By comparison, appropriated levels as recently as Fiscal Year 2000 were as high as $175 million. These funding levels reflect a dramatic shift in priorities away from industrial efficiency R&D. H.R. 3775 works to restore this program and ensure continued gains in industrial energy efficiency and environmental performance through collaborative research and development.

Endorsing groups include the National Association of Manufacturers, the Industrial Energy Consumers of America and the Association of Materials Manufacturing Excellence.

Solar Decathlon Awards Ceremony

The Cunctator — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:00:00 -0500

The winner of the Solar Decathlon will be announced at the awards ceremony at the conclusion of the Engineering judging.

The Solar Decathlon competition is being held on the National Mall, Washington D.C., from October 12-20, 2007.

Creating the Solar Village

The Cunctator — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 14:00:00 -0500

Student leaders in architecture and engineering from three universities at the US Solar Decathlon on the Mall discuss special features of their leading-edge, solar-powered houses and how their experience has helped shape their future as innovators. Participants are from the University of Colorado, Boulder – a two-time solar Decathlon winner, Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) and the University of Maryland, College Park. Panel moderator is Bobbie Faul-Zeitler, editor of Green News Update and mentor to the University of Maryland team. Co-sponsored by the Smithsonian office of Energy Management.

At the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History at 10th Street & Constitution Ave. NW.

Solar Decathlon Showcases Green Homes for Today: How Energy Bill Provisions Can Support High-Performance Homes

The Cunctator — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 13:00:00 -0500

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) invites you to a Congressional briefing featuring the Solar Decathlon and the value of incorporating high-performance “green” design in buildings. The briefing will also discuss how provisions in the pending energy bill can help improve efficient homes. Buildings account for more than 40 percent of annual U.S. energy use and are, in turn, responsible for more than one-third of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Because buildings last many decades, the economic, environmental and health impacts of inefficient building design are long-lasting.

The Solar Decathlon-taking place on the National Mall October 12 – 20- is an exciting competition in which 20 teams of college and university students from across the country, including four international teams, compete to design, build, and operate the most attractive, effective, and energy-efficient solar-powered house. The house must also be able to power an electric vehicle as well as be “off the grid.” These solar homes are powerful, comfortable, and stylish. They are relaxed and elegant, wasting neither space nor energy. High efficiency solar houses like these are using readily available technology and designs-not futuristic concepts. But policies like stronger building codes and the solar provisions in the energy bill are essential in helping make our homes greener and much more efficient-saving both energy and money.

Rhone Resch, Executive Director, Solar Energy Industries Association
Dr. Kaye Brubaker, Associate Professor, University of Maryland
Bill Nesmith, Assistant Director for Conservation, Oregon Department of Energy
Lowell Ungar, Director of Policy, Alliance to Save Energy

In addition to discussing the Solar Decathlon, the briefing will address the role of codes and standards in building energy efficiency. Measures to promote increased residential building energy efficiency are included in the House energy bill HR 3221, Title IX, Sec. 9031. “Encouraging Stronger Building Codes.” The briefing panel will also discuss the solar provisions in the energy bill, including tax incentives for solar energy.

This briefing is open to the public and no reservations are required. For more information, please contact Fred Beck at fbeck@eesi.org or 202.662.1892.