Winds of Change: Ohio Legislature Passes Renewable Energy Tax Reform

It’s about time we find ways to utilize renewable energy sources in the U.S. while creating the jobs that go with them. Ohio is proposing seven new wind farms in their quest for renewable energy according to Wind and Solar Jobs for Ohio, a grassroots coalition in Ohio.

Passing the bill, known as Sub Senate Bill 232, was a bipartisan effort. Both parties put aside their differences to bring Ohio's tax structure for wind development in line those of surrounding states. With this vote, Ohio lawmakers have positioned the state to create thousands of Ohio manufacturing, construction, operations and maintenance jobs in the wind industry and protected the existing manufacturing jobs resulting from new wind turbine orders.

This renewable energy tax reform strengthened the renewable market and secured millions of dollars in new tax revenue for local communities in Ohio.

You can read the full article here.

People Are Talking About California’s Proposition 16

Proposition 16 is in the news recently because many people are feeling very adamant about a NO vote on the initiative that seems to benefit the utility company giant, PG and E. Santa Barbara’s www.independent.com states that Proposition 16 gives PG and E a monopoly on electricity.

• “Prop 16 would change the California Constitution to require two-thirds supermajority vote before any municipality (city, county, district, etc.) could form its own nonprofit public utility, expand an existing publicly owned utility, or buy clean, renewable energy for the community at wholesale prices.”

The California initiative process was created in the early 1900s to empower citizens to enact legislation. Is big business using the initiative process for their gain? I took the liberty of looking up Proposition 16 in the California voter guide to get a more accurate look at both sides of the issue.

PG and E is said to have written the initiative and is the only one funding the campaign. PG and E is trying to keep its market share by force. Many people feel there are better ways to stay ahead: competitive prices and fulfilling its commitment to clean, renewable energy.

Some are worried that this change would prevent community choice in electricity. With community choice, a little-known option, a municipality could choose whether they wanted to power their homes with wind, solar, biomass, or even wave energy. So if your town wanted to use wind power, for instance, and take control over their impact on pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and prices, they could opt-out of the investor-owned utility company. Also, customers in your town could opt-out of the community choice and stay with the utility company, it’s their choice. If Prop. 16 passes, it means local governments would be required to receive two-thirds voter approval before they could start up electricity services or expand electricity service into a new territory. Some believe this puts local government spending in the hands of the taxpayer.

Coal is still being used as the primary electricity generator in California. See: http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=California_and_coal. Power companies aren’t meeting their goals for renewable energy statewide. And now some taxpayers feel that PG and E is trying to taking away their choice.

As with any proposition, voters need to be fully informed and the three sources below are a good place to start:

http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/propositions/16/
http://www.independent.com/news/2010/jun/03/no-prop-16/
http://earth2tech.com/2010/06/03/opinion-it-leaders-need-to-speak-out-against-prop-16/

Senate to Act on Tax-Extenders Package

Yesterday top lawmakers announced that they would be extending the $31 billion package of tax measures that are due to expire at the end of the year. It includes job creation efforts, renewable energy provisions, and state sales tax write-offs for taxpayers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Senators Max Baucus (D., Mont.) and Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa) informed Majority Leader Harry Reid that the Senate Finance Committee will set the path to extend the credits when Congress returns from a holiday recess in January.

"These provisions are important to our economy -- not only because they help create jobs, but also because they are used to address pressing national concerns," the lawmakers said in the letter. "We understand that the expiration of these provisions creates uncertainty and complexity in the tax law."

Messrs. Baucus and Grassley are the chairman and top Republican, respectively, on the panel charged with writing tax law.

They said they intend to extend the credits retroactively to the beginning of 2010, so there is no gap for recipients of the measures. The package includes a $7 billion research and development credit, as well as a number of renewable energy provisions and a state sales-tax write-off for individuals.

Continue reading at WJS.com…

Renewable Energy Companies Look For Tax Equity Revival

From CNNmoney.com:

The financial crisis has opened a void in financing for renewable-energy projects as troubled investment banks have pulled back, potentially providing opportunities for smaller banks, investment funds and utilities as new government backing for clean energy starts to flow.

Some non-traditional firms are expected to step up their investment in renewable-energy projects, which had been dominated by big players like Bank of America Corp. (BAC), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Morgan Stanley (MS). But money hasn't come fast enough for many developers of wind, solar and other clean-energy projects, which are scrambling to secure funds, even as the U.S. government promises a flood of money in the hope of kick-starting investment in a sector seen key to rejeuvenating the economy and weaning the country off of fossil fuels.

Lending was fluid when the banks had large balance sheets and could make use of a 30% renewable energy investment tax credit. The banks would invest in clean-energy projects in exchange for the developing company's tax credit and a related tax write-off called accelerated depreciation, but as losses have mounted, the big investment banks still standing have cut back on their tax- equity financing.

This has hurt companies like OptiSolar and eSolar, privately held solar power developers in California that have had to sell their project development businesses due to a lack of financing.

Medium-size banks like U.S. Bankcorp (USB) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (8306.TO) unit Union Bank N.A. say they plan to expand their tax equity investments in renewable projects, and utilities like California's PG&E Corp. ( PCG) and Sempra Energy (SRE) have said they're interested in financing such projects for the first time. The firm has spoken to U.S. House Banking Committee Chairman Barney Franks about its proposal, in which the Treasury Department would provide investor-note financing to eligible corporations that have tax capacity, said Jack Casey, the firm's vice chairman in Washington.