Release: SEEC Presses for Clean Energy Tax Provisions

House Coalition: Extend Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives
Failure to Do So Will Result in Job Loss and Economic Disadvantage

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Recently, 27 Members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) sent a letter to the Ways and Means Committee urging reinstatement and extension of clean energy and energy efficiency-related provisions of the tax code.

“It’s simply common sense to extend the clean energy and energy efficiency tax incentives that spur American job creation and domestic manufacturing growth,” said SEEC Co-Chair Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY). “We need sound tax policy in order to compete with other nations around the world that are making these important clean tech investments, and especially as our economy continues to recover, we cannot afford this loss.”

“Our tax code is a reflection of our values and priorities,” said SEEC Co-Chair Rep. Paul D. Tonko (D-NY). “As we compete in a global race on clean energy innovation and jobs, we simply cannot afford self-inflicted disadvantages and manufactured crises. The Capital Region of New York is home to a hot-bed of innovation and technology development. We must extend these provisions in order to continue to create jobs, become energy self-sufficient and protect our environment.”

“We must work to keep our economy on its path to recovery, and the clean energy and energy efficiency tax incentives are key to our efforts,” said SEEC Vice Chair Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA). “These tax incentives will create thousands of American jobs, help keep our country competitive in the global market, and lower energy costs for hard-working families.  We must continue to invest in manufacturing clean energy technology here in America.  Reinstating the tax incentives that have lapsed and extending those that will expire at the end of this year is something we can do right now to help the American people, and I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to take action.”

“As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, I see the incredible innovation and employment potential being recognized by the nations who invest in clean energy manufacturing and development,” said SEEC Member Rep. Russ Carnahan (D-MO). “This is a time for the same decisions that we faced at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution and at the beginning of the Space Race. Will the United States lead and dominate, or will we lose out to China, India and other nations? We must acknowledge a new energy future or predestine our country to second place in a contest where only the winners survive. Governments which ignore new methods of energy production will run nations that are increasingly irrelevant. Ensuring that we recognize and support clean energy production will keep this nation competitive in our modern global economy.”

“Bottom line, businesses and families alike need to be able to make long-term plans and investments, and must be incentivized to conserve and reduce energy consumption while doing so,” said SEEC Member Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL). “Energy efficiency infrastructure leads to clean energy jobs, clean energy production leads to new technologies, and ensuring a sustainable energy resource ensures economic recovery and success.  We must reinstate and extend energy efficiency tax credits now, plain and simple.”

“At a time when our economy needs a boost from high-growth fields, we have an opportunity to put more Americans to work building turbines, installing solar panels and further developing these technologies to sell throughout the world,” said SEEC Member Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI). “We are seeing the potential of these industries to grow in Rhode Island as we move toward developing the nation’s first offshore wind farm. But if we aren’t committed to ensuring that renewable energy manufacturing and innovation happens in our country, we will lose out on economic benefits to competitors that are making major investments in this area.”

“These clean energy and energy efficiency tax incentives are vitally important to the growth of the domestic cleantech sector, much of which is based in my Silicon Valley district,” said SEEC Member Rep. Mike Honda (D-CA). “Reinstating these credits will help promote US manufacturing of renewable energy technologies, as well as more research and development, sustaining and creating good paying, high tech jobs in the United States.”

Cosigners of the letter include: SEEC Co-Chairs Israel, Tonko, Connolly; SEEC Vice Chairs Holt, Matsui, Polis; SEEC Members Braley, Capps, Carnahan, Cohen, Eshoo, Garamendi, Grijalva, Hinchey, Hirono, Honda, Keating, Langevin, Lee, Loebsack, McGovern, Miller, Olver, Quigley, Ryan, Speier, Tsongas.

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Chairman Camp, Chairman Tiberi, Congressman Levin, and Congressman Neal:

As the Committee continues its work on legislation to amend provisions of our tax code, the Members of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) strongly urge you to reinstate the clean energy and energy efficiency tax incentives that expired at the end of 2011 and to extend the provisions that will expire at the end of this year. 

These provisions contribute greatly to the economic well-being of our nation by creating thousands of jobs, assisting small start-up businesses, lowering energy bills for working families, and driving emerging technologies that will provide Americans with a permanent solution to our long-term energy challenges.  These provisions are essential to building a strong domestic renewable energy industry and creating jobs. 

According to testimony given by Rhone Resch, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association, before the Committee on Science and Technology in April, the enactment of the 30 percent commercial and residential solar Investment Tax Credit in 2005 and the 1603 Treasury Program in 2009 spurred a seven-fold increase in domestic deployment of solar technologies and the development of a domestic industry value chain that employs over 100,000 American workers.  As another example, the expired Efficient Appliance Credit, enacted with strong bipartisan support in 2005, is an important factor in maintaining jobs in America’s appliance manufacturing industry.  According to the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, the number of jobs in the United States affected by the incentive is on the scale of 40,000, which accounts for at least 17,000 direct manufacturing jobs that support the manufacturing of the appliance products covered by the incentive.  These are just a couple of examples of the tremendous benefit these tax incentive programs provide to our economy.     

We have reduced our imports of foreign oil below 50 percent of our demand for the first time in decades.  Further diversification of our energy supply and broader deployment of energy efficiency measures is needed if we are to continue this positive trend.  Expanded deployment of renewable energy and efficiency technologies is essential to accomplishing the goal of energy independence. 

The specific provisions we urge the Committee to reinstate include the following:

Sec. 25C(g): Credit for certain non-business energy property

Sec. 30B(i)(4): Conversion credit for plug-in electric vehicles

Sec. 30C(g)(2): Credit for alternative fuel vehicle refueling property (non-hydrogen property)

Sec. 45L(g): Credit for construction of new energy efficient homes

Sec. 45M(b): Credit for energy efficient appliances

Sec. 48(d) and sec. 1603 of Pub. L. No. 111-5: Grants for specified energy property in lieu of tax credits

Sec. 132(f): Parity for exclusion from income for employer-provided mass transit and parking benefits

The specific provisions we urge you to extend include the following:

Sec. 142(1)(8): Qualified green buildings and sustainable design project bonds

Sec. 40(b)(6)(H): Cellulosic biofuel producer credit

Sec. 45(d): Placed-in-service date for wind facilities eligible to claim electricity production credit

Sec. 48(a)(5): Election to claim the energy credit in lieu of the electricity production credit for wind facilities

Sec.168(1): Special depreciation allowance for cellulosic biofuel plant property

Without these tax incentives, we risk losing thousands of existing American jobs, and growth in these domestic industries will come to a grinding halt.  Other nations are making significant investments in renewable energy technologies and energy efficiency.  We operate in a global economy.  If we are unwilling to invest in domestic industries, these businesses and the jobs they support will move elsewhere.  Our nation has been a leader in the research and development of many of these technologies.  We must now ensure these past research and development investments pay dividends here at home in the form of a strong, domestic renewable energy sector.  Therefore, we strongly urge you to reinstate or extend these important tax incentives.

Thank you for your attention and consideration of this matter.

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