A coalition of 34 groups representing everything from agriculture to wildlife have sent a letter to the leaders of Congress suggesting a three-part plan to help revive the economy through the development of renewable fuels. Bart Ruth with 25-by-25 says the plan is based upon the principle that, “Our nation’s agriculture and forestry industry cannot only supply a good portion of our nation’s energy supply but the development of a new green-energy feature could stimulate and reinvigorate our economy.”
The first part of the plan calls for at least $1.2 billion per year in mandatory supplemental appropriations for implementation of the Energy Title of the Farm Bill. The group says that the construction of new clean energy facilities will create construction, maintenance and technical jobs while building local tax bases. They point to the Rural Energy for America Program which is already funding wind, solar, biogas, bioenergy, geothermal and energy efficiency projects in nearly every state of the union. They contend a Biorefinery Assistance Program will help build new, advanced biofuels facilities but will require additional funding in a tight credit environment.
The second leg of the plan calls for Congress to extend the federal Production Tax Credits (PTC) for renewable energy including cellulosic and biomass for five years. They also call for a change in the structure of the PTC and the investment tax credits (ITC) for solar and fuel cell development when used in the production of electricity. Along with this, “Renewable tax credits generated in 2008 and 2009 should be permitted to carry back against tax liability over the past decade to the extent of ne renewable investment in 2009.
The third leg is creation of bond programs and incentives for electric cooperatives, public power and municipalities to build new renewable facilities and improve energy efficiency. Julie Sibbling with the National Wildlife Federation says we are, “At the threshold of launching an entirely new clean energy economy in the United States, unfortunately this economy is very dependent upon good credit and ability to find the funding to start up these new industries.” Sibbling adds that if we don’t come up with the money now, we may put the green energy movement off for years.
