Advanced Energy Perspectives

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) was confirmed as the new U.S. ambassador to China on February 6 by a vote of 96-0. With the confirmation, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-WA) has taken over chairmanship of the Finance Committee and Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) has taken the gavel for the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. Sen. Wyden has been outspoken on the need to extend the advanced energy tax credits that expired at the end of 2013.

Maine took a step forward in the race to install the first U.S. offshore wind turbines with the state’s Public Utilities Commission (PUC) voting last month to approve a power-purchase contract for a pilot project. The Maine Aqua Ventus project would include two 6 megawatt (MW) floating turbines.

Maine Aqua Ventus is proposed by Maine Prime Technologies, a consortium consisting of the University of Maine, Cianbro Corp. (an AEE member company), and Emera, Inc. The group launched the nation’s first prototype offshore wind floating turbine, a one-eighth-scale model, along Maine’s shore last spring.

In his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, President Barack Obama said, “the all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working” and asked Congress to “continue that progress with a smarter tax policy.” Meanwhile, AEE delivered a letter signed by 60 advanced energy business leaders from across the country calling for Congress to extend critical tax credits that expired January 1.

As 2014 kicks off, federal lawmakers are putting their stakes in the ground around both advanced energy tax credits and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) work to rein in greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector.

In a blog published by The Hill, AEE’s Malcolm Woolf called for a retroactive extension of tax credits that expired at the end of 2013. AEE’s partner organization in Illinois, Clean Energy Trust, also penned a letter to the editor of the Chicago Tribune countering that paper’s attack on the PTC. While the outlook for credits remains uncertain, some analysts believe a bill in March to extend the debt ceiling could be the legislative vehicle for their revival.

It’s now 2014 and we have a busy year ahead: much needed legislation to revive the tax provisions that just expired, federal energy tax reform, EPA’s rulemaking to curb carbon pollution for existing power plants, energy efficiency legislation, and much more. Then there are the midterm elections, with which all of this will have to contend.

Unfortunately, last year ended with a number of tax provisions critical to advance energy expiring due to arbitrary deadlines set the last time they were renewed.  It’s now up to Congress to retroactively extend those tax credits once again, and as soon as possible. Otherwise, financing for land-based and offshore wind power, geothermal, biofuels, energy efficiency, and other advanced energy investments will become significantly more challenging, for no reason other than federal inaction.