[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 30 (Friday, February 16, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S2179]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SALAZAR (for himself, Mr. Smith, Mr. Dorgan, and Mr. 
        Craig):
  S. 673. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
credits for the installation of wind energy property, including by 
rural homeowners, farmers, ranchers, and small businesses, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Finance.
  Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, today I am introducing two bills that 
will help drive the renewable energy revolution that is currently 
underway in our rural communities. The Rural Community Renewable Energy 
Bonds Act, which I am introducing with Senator Smith, and the Rural 
Wind Energy Development Act, which I am introducing with Senators 
Smith, Dorgan and Craig, will help spur much needed private investment 
in renewable energy infrastructure in rural areas.
  I have spoken countless times about the great possibilities that 
rural America holds for our Nation's energy future. I have also 
expressed my alarm at how our rising dependence on foreign oil is 
undermining our security and our interests around the world.
  How do we build a more energy secure economy--one that is less 
vulnerable to wild swings in oil prices, political instability, and 
supply disruptions? Unfortunately, we don't have the resources in this 
country to drill our way to energy independence. We do, however, have 
the most productive lands in the world, and the most productive 
farmers, ranchers, engineers and entrepreneurs in the world. If we give 
them the right tools, they can build a new, clean energy economy that 
will rely heavily on biofuels, wind power, solar energy, and 
alternative sources.
  If you spend time in places like Prowers County or Alamosa County, 
you see that a clean energy revolution is already underway in our 
heartland. In these rural communities, like so many across the country, 
people are banding together to build small biofuels plants, solar 
farms, and wind turbines. These projects are already underway, and they 
are the seeds for a full-blown clean energy revolution in rural 
America.
  The farmers, ranchers, and entrepreneurs who are behind these 
projects want to be a part of the solution to our Nation's energy 
challenges. They also understand that home-grown energy can revitalize 
the Main Streets that have been boarded up in the last few years.
  The bills I am introducing today provide tools that rural communities 
can use to build a renewable energy economy.
  The first bill, the Renewable Energy Bonds Act, provides incentives 
for investment in wind and other renewable energy projects by giving 
private developers access to tax-exempt bond markets.
  Currently, the Federal tax code only allows municipal and public 
entities access to tax-exempt bond markets for wind and other renewable 
energy projects. Private developers, who are more likely to invest in 
smaller projects and who are currently responsible for nearly 75 
percent of current renewable energy development, are not eligible to 
use these federally tax-exempt bonds.
  This is unfortunate because these are the same small developers who 
don't benefit much from the production tax credit, as their Federal tax 
liabilities usually aren't big enough to reap the tax credit's 
benefits.
  Renewable energy bonds make sense for these small developers and, 
because they cost the Federal Government less than the production tax 
credit, they also make sense from a fiscal perspective. This bill may 
actually save the Government money.
  The second bill I am introducing, the Rural Wind Energy Development 
Act, would extend the production tax credit to include small wind 
systems. We have made great strides in wind development over the last 
few years, as evidenced by wind energy's growing availability to 
Colorado consumers.
  The trouble is that the existing production tax credit only benefits 
larger producers that want to build wind farms with million-dollar 
turbines. Small businesses, towns, farms, and families aren't given the 
same incentive to produce their own renewable power from smaller, more 
affordable turbines.
  This is unfortunate because the National Renewable Energy Lab in 
Golden, Colorado, and others are making great strides in the 
development of small wind systems that can be installed on homes and 
businesses. The system now available costs around $50,000 for 10kW of 
capacity.
  That's a steep investment for any family or any business. But our 
bill, by providing a tax incentive for their purchase, would not only 
reduce the cost, but it would create more market certainty for 
manufacturers of small wind systems. With more systems in production, 
costs will fall further and small wind will be a real option for more 
people.
  The bill is simple: it creates a five year tax credit of $1500 per 
half-kW. There is no cap for the purchase and installation of small 
wind systems, so long as they are smaller than 100kW. It will put more 
small wind systems on the market and it will give consumers more 
choices of how to power their homes and businesses.
  I'm proud to introduce these bills with my colleagues because they 
represent two more building blocks for a new, clean energy economy and 
because they will help revitalize a rural America that has been 
forgotten for too long.
  I hope we can move these straightforward, bipartisan solutions 
through as quickly as possible.
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