Renewable energy provisions slipped through the legislative cracks in 2007. Last December, President Bush signed the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. The original bill had contained provisions to extend the federal tax incentives for renewable energy. Yet, in the final days of the Congressional session, the bill was significantly altered. Tax credits for solar and other renewable energy were removed.
The investment tax credits for residential solar installations, currently set to expire in December 2008, would have been extended and the cap (now set at $2,000) would have increased to $4,000. Congress removed the provisions from the bill primarily over controversy regarding how to account for the lost revenues. The original bill offset the tax incentives for renewable through increased or no tax incentives for “big oil.” But in politics, that didn’t go over too well.
Still, the final bill was lauded by an overwhelming majority in Congress for its mandate to increase CAFE standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020 (the 25 mpg standard has not changed since 1975). Raising the CAFE standards provided Senators with enough political mileage to decelerate their progress on renewable energy. With the advent of longer days and the coming of spring, it’s time to accelerate the renewable energy process again.