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Mixed signals on energy incentives in tax bill
Grassley indicated he’ll continue pushing a fix in conference for the Senate bill’s Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT) provisions, which renewable interests say will stifle foreign investments in U.S. energy projects by subjecting them to a 100 percent tax. However, Grassley said the “biggest focus” will be on the Senate’s decision to retain the corporate minimum tax, which has compounded the effect of the BEAT provisions on renewable interests, as well as a host of other industry sectors [ read more … ]
Wind could see retroactive tax hike under Senate plan
Wind developers could be in for a tax bill surprise. The Senate’s tax plan would reduce the number of years developers can claim the wind production tax credit (PTC), effectively reducing its value, renewable advocates say. Particularly vexing for wind developers: The provision could be applied retroactively to existing projects. [ read more … ]
House backs conference talks in nail-biter vote
The House voted Monday night to go to conference with the Senate on tax reform but only after overcoming internal GOP divisions over spending that nearly sank formal negotiations. The chamber voted 222-192 to launch formal conference talks after leaders kept the 15-minute vote open for more than a half-hour to convince Freedom Caucus members not to scuttle the motion. [ read more … ]
Texas wind-energy growth could stall with tax-cut proposals
Texas hit a milestone in October when wind-generation capacity for the first time exceeded installed coal-fired generation capacity, but proposed tax-cut changes could slow that momentum. The U.S. House of Representatives recently approved legislation changing the way wind companies qualify for key production and investment tax credits. [ read more … ]
Developer seeks to bury transmission lines along railroad corridors
While proposed long-distance, high-voltage transmission projects continue to be stymied by hostile landowners and disapproving state regulators, a new transmission strategy is taking root in the Midwest. The Direct Connect Development Company has been working on a plan for an underground transmission line along existing railroad tracks from north-central Iowa to the Chicago area. The goal is to provide a way to move additional wind energy from Iowa, the Dakotas and Minnesota to a transfer point in the Chicago area. From there, the power could move farther east into regions with more electricity demand. [ read more … ]
New Report: Growing western electricity market delivers increasing economic benefits, low-cost renewables
While most Americans support developing more renewable energy, very few that work outside the energy industry spend any time thinking about how its delivered to their homes or businesses. Likely even fewer are aware of recent developments that might help their own utility bring more low-cost, renewable power online. That’s why the Wind Energy Foundation’s A Renewable America campaign has expanded our work this year to highlight the benefits of expanding and upgrading transmission, as well as electricity markets. [ read more … ]
Grist for the rumor mill: Where’s the new FERC chairman?
The prolonged and unexplained delay in the swearing-in of the attorney picked by President Trump to lead the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has the Washington rumor mill grinding, with FERC facing two important deadlines in the next week. Kevin McIntyre, co-leader of the global energy practice at the law firm Jones Day, was confirmed by the Senate on Nov. 3 to take the gavel from Neil Chatterjee. McIntyre would serve out the remainder of a term that ends June 2018 and a full term that ends June 2023. [ read more … ]
The Latest Bull Case for Electric Cars: the Cheapest Batteries Ever
The kind of battery that powers electric vehicles is now the cheapest it’s ever been thanks to a global ramp-up in production. Lithium-ion battery packs are selling at an average price of $209 a kilowatt-hour, down 24 percent from a year ago and about a fifth of what it was in 2010, a Bloomberg New Energy Finance survey shows. The rate has further to fall — reaching below $100 a kilowatt-hour by 2025, according to a report by BNEF analyst James Frith. [ read more … ]
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