President Bush has signed into law new consumer tax credits for energy efficiency home improvements, as well as purchases of plug-in hybrid vehicles. These provisions were included in H.R. 1424, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which the president signed on October 3, 2008. The homeowner tax credits are largely the same – but not identical – to those that expired at the end of 2007, and begin again on January 1, 2009.

We will update our Energy-Efficiency Home and Vehicle Tax Credits web page very soon with details on the new consumer tax credits.

On Thursday, September 25, 2008, at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., the Alliance assembled ten thought leaders hailing from various sectors and industries who offered their views on how best to conceive a "new energy world order" – one that begins with energy efficiency as the first resource of choice. Though their methods and motivations differed, each of the keynote speakers has excelled at implementing energy efficiency as the quickest, cleanest, and cheapest energy resource available, and the most cost-effective solution to climate change.

Presenting to an audience of over 200 people, the keynote speakers gave insight to the ways in which energy efficiency is transforming the business sector, influencing public policy, and helping to mitigate carbon emissions worldwide. Presentations and pictures from the event are now available.

The Alliance is pleased to introduce a new series of state policy briefs on energy efficiency entitled State Energy Efficiency Policies: Options and Lessons Learned.

The policy briefs are specifically designed to provide state officials and those who track and analyze state legislation with a concise review of the policy options available to state governments for promoting energy efficiency. The series will also highlight “lessons learned” taken from the experiences state governments have had with these policies.

The first of 12 briefs to be released over the coming weeks, Funding Mechanisms for Energy Efficiency, explores the four major ways in which states can fund energy efficiency programs.

Sept. 23, 2009: Alliance President Kateri Callahan urged the Senate to approve long-awaited and urgently-needed energy efficiency tax incentives for U.S. consumers and businesses, which the Senate later did by a vote of 93-2.  The provisions are included in a bipartisan, substitute amendment, introduced by Senators Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), amending H.R. 6049 that was scheduled for debate by the Senate today.

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