House Republicans worry at lack of end date in tax credit guidelines

Wind energy supporters are asking for just a few more years of the lucrative federal tax credit that supports the industry, but a few House Republicans yesterday worried that savvy developers could exploit existing Internal Revenue Service guidelines to benefit from the incentive indefinitely. Industry officials and tax experts say those fears are unfounded. But the concerns voiced at a hearing yesterday demonstrate growing skepticism toward the credit, whose fate is closely tied to ongoing negotiations over comprehensive tax reform. [ read more … ]

GOP questions need for wind farm tax credit

Republican lawmakers signaled opposition Wednesday to renewing a tax credit for wind farms, arguing it’s time for the industry to stand on its own two feet. Democrats and the wind industry say the renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC) is critical to developing diverse sources of energy, but Republicans expressed skepticism that the break is still needed.

“We keep hearing that ‘we’re almost there’ or ‘just a little bit longer.’ But the facts state that wind power has been steadily increasing over the last 10 years, and there’s this point of saying, when does wind take off on its own?” said Rep. James Lankford (R-Okla.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on Energy Policy. [ read more … ]

New Hunt for Head of Energy Regulator After Candidate Withdraws

Mr. Binz, a former utility regulator in Colorado who was known for his support of renewable energy, had attracted unusual opposition from the coal industry and conservatives, and it appeared unlikely that his nomination would be approved by the Senate Energy Committee. The commission he was nominated to lead has some authority over transmission lines and other factors important to the integration of wind and other forms of renewable energy into the power grid. [ read more … ]

Filling the Gaps in the Flow of Renewable Energy

As renewable energy becomes increasingly commonplace, interest in energy storage technologies is growing around the world. Researchers in Germany, Japan, the United States and elsewhere are finding governments increasingly willing to support their ideas, although many projects are in the early stages. Cheap, large-scale energy storage is considered the holy grail of renewable power because it would allow wind and solar farms to provide constant energy to the electric grid. [ read more … ]