[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 116 (Thursday, September 23, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9558-S9559]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ALTERNATIVE ENERGY TAX CREDITS

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, we are going to soon be dealing with a tax 
conference report, and I am satisfied with what it does for the middle 
class--it is important and good--but I am disappointed with what it 
does not do for alternative energy.
  It does have a provision in it dealing with wind, and I think that is 
important, but the United States needs a new strategy, a new vision to 
meet our energy needs. We cannot meet the demands for oil in this 
country by producing our way out of the problem. America controls less 
than 3 percent of the oil reserves in the world, including what is in 
ANWR. So we must look elsewhere for other sources of energy like 
renewable energy.
  This Nation is rich in renewable energy resources--the heat within 
the Earth, the warmth of the Sun, and the force of the wind. We have 
always been blessed with these resources. Now we have the technology to 
harness them efficiently.
  The Senate is already on record supporting the development of 
renewable energy. We know that renewable energy can provide a steady 
supply of electricity that is made in the USA. We know it can create 
thousands of jobs. We know it can protect our environment and reduce 
global warming, and we know it can help reduce our dependence on oil 
from the Middle East. That is why the Senate has voted repeatedly to 
include strong incentives for the development of renewable energy in 
comprehensive energy bills. In fact, 54 Senators signed a letter last 
fall supporting a national goal of renewable energy or a renewable 
portfolio standard that would have required 10 percent of all 
electricity produced in this country by 2020 be generated from 
renewable sources.
  Nevada has set some of the highest goals in the Nation for developing 
renewable energy. We are going to steadily increase our electricity 
generated from renewable sources with a goal of 15 percent by the year 
2013. The Senate has also voted in its energy bills to expand and 
extend the section 45 production tax credit for renewable resources. In 
the last week, thirty-six Senators signed a letter urging that an 
extension and expansion of the section 45 production tax credit for 
renewable energy resources be included in the FSC/ETI bill, known as 
FSC.
  The existing production tax credit only covers wind energy, closed-
loop biomass, and poultry waste. We must extend and expand the 
production tax credit to include other renewable energy resources, such 
as geothermal, solar, and open-loop biomass. This is what the Senate 
has repeatedly supported.
  We know the production tax credit will spur the production of solar 
and geothermal power because it has already worked for wind power.
  There are farmers in the Midwest who make more money producing 
electricity from the windmills than they do from growing soybeans, 
wheat, and corn.
  Because of the existing credit, combined with new technology, the 
development of wind energy has exploded in the past few years. By 
extending and expanding that incentive, the section 45 production tax 
credit would spur billions of dollars worth of economic development and 
create tens of thousands of jobs, especially in rural areas. But we may 
not be able to act on the FSC/ETI bill this year, so I was hopeful that 
the Senate and House committees that met to finalize a bill on tax cuts 
for families would act to extend and expand section 45 production tax 
credits. They did not do that, and I am disappointed.
  This legislation, which we will get later this evening, will only 
extend the production tax credit for a few renewable energy resources--
wind, closed-loop biomass, and poultry waste--and they have enjoyed 
that credit for more than 10 years. So our job certainly is not done, 
and that is an understatement.

  We are not on the road to diversifying the Nation's energy supply by 
increasing our use of renewable energy resources.
  Wind will help us in Nevada, there is no question about that, but we 
would do well with solar and geothermal. We are the Saudi Arabia of 
geothermal energy. I like wind energy, but it is an intermittent energy 
supply that must be supplemented by geothermal, solar, open-loop 
biomass, and other renewables. Wind is stronger when it is part of a 
balanced renewable energy portfolio.
  It is my understanding that the House will shortly announce conferees 
finally--finally--to the FSC bill so a conference can be convened. 
Let's do that so we can extend the production tax credit for eligible 
facilities from date of enactment through at least December 1, 2006. 
Eligible resources need to be expanded from wind and closed loop to 
include geothermal, solar, biomass, and other renewables.
  It is important to include tradable credits to public power utilities 
and rural electric cooperatives, which serve 25 percent of the Nation's 
power customers, by allowing them to transfer their credits to taxable 
entities.
  We all know that a reliable, clean supply of energy is a key to our 
Nation's success this century. We all appreciate the United States has 
been blessed with abundant resources of clean, renewable energy, and we 
all realize that the section 45 production tax credit has successfully 
spurred the development of wind power.
  Now that tax incentive has expired. We must extend it and expand it, 
which we are going to do tonight for wind energy only, at least that is 
my understanding. So this is the first step toward the kind of energy 
policy our Nation needs, a policy that looks toward the future and 
makes our Nation stronger.
  I repeat, I am quite certain that in this conference report coming to 
the floor this evening, there will be an extension of the wind energy 
production tax credit. We so badly need it in the other areas. This 
wind energy production tax credit is going to work and it is going to 
work well, but it would work a lot better if it had its companions, sun 
and geothermal.
  I ask unanimous consent to print a letter from the Geothermal Energy 
Association in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

[[Page S9559]]

                                Geothermal Energy Association,

                               Washington, DC, September 23, 2004.
     Hon. Harry Reid,
     U.S. Senate,
     Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Reid: Thank you for your clear and cogent 
     remarks this afternoon on the Senate floor regarding a 
     renewable energy production tax credit. Like you, we are 
     disappointed that the Conference Committee on H.R. 1308 has 
     extended this powerful incentive only for wind energy 
     projects. As you said today in the Senate, ``We must extend 
     and expand the production tax credit to include other 
     renewable energy resources like geothermal energy, solar 
     energy, and open-loop biomass. This is what the Senate has 
     repeatedly supported.''
  The Board of Directors of the Geothermal Energy Association has 
approved the following statement on this matter:
  For the past twelve years, the PTC has been effectively a single 
technology incentive and it's time for that to end. Providing the PTC 
incentive to some renewable technologies while withholding it from 
others is detrimental to the latter, precludes balanced renewable 
industry growth, impedes utilization of valuable energy resources, and 
interferes with the natural operation of market forces. For these 
reasons, the present situation is not in the public interest. Congress 
should seek to encourage growth in all renewable technologies and 
expand the PTC to include all renewable technologies.
  All renewable technologies should be treated fairly; either all 
should receive the benefit of the PTC to spur their growth, or none 
should receive it. At least in this manner all renewables would be 
competing on an equivalent basis. It is our hope that before Congress 
adjourns it will enact law provisions passed by the House and Senate 
that would expand the PTC to include geothermal energy and other 
renewable technologies.
  We share your hope that the Conference Committee meeting to consider 
the FSC-ETI bill will take the next step and expand the Section 45 
credit to all renewable technologies.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Karl Gawell,
                                               Executive Director.

  Mr. REID. I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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