[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 123 (Tuesday, September 14, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1603]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             CLEAN RENEWABLE ENERGY INVESTMENT ACT OF 2010

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                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 14, 2010

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, the main issue facing public power 
providers, corporative electric companies, and tribal utilities who 
wish to generate renewable energy is the lack of equal treatment under 
the current tax credit bond system. The ``Clean Renewable Energy 
Investment Act of 2010,'' brings parity to these providers by giving 
them the necessary tools to help solve the nation's energy problems 
while creating thousands of jobs. In 2005, Congress created the Clean 
Renewable Energy Bond (``CREB'') program to provide the not-for-profit 
sector of the utility industry with a federal incentive to assist them 
in creating green jobs and developing renewable power generation. Many 
much needed improvements and modifications to the CREB program have 
been discovered through the practical application of the CREBS program 
over the past five years. This bill provides the much needed 
improvements to the CREB program, bringing the program's effectiveness 
in line with Congress's initial intent.
  The bill contains four key provisions. First it provides parity with 
the Section 45 production tax credits. Second, it targets incentives to 
commercial scale projects. Third, it clarifies that tribal utilities 
may issue CREBs. Lastly, it includes important technical modifications 
to make CREBs more consistent with other types of existing tax credit 
bonds.
  Ultimately, this bill enables these power providers to develop and 
own renewable resources directly, while ensuring that the full benefit 
of the federal incentive flows directly to electric consumers--
resulting in lower costs to the consumers through the creation of green 
jobs and renewable energy.

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