Jeff Bingaman United States Senator from New Mexico

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman today said he remains very concerned that with only a few weeks left in the 110^th Congress, the Senate has once again failed to extend renewable energy tax incentives.

Bingaman helped write the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which contained tax credits to help make producing clean energy more affordable.  Many of those tax provisions will expire this year.  The Senate voted Tuesday and again today to try to end a filibuster of tax extension bills, but on both attempts failed to get 60 votes.

"I am very concerned.  Renewable companies rely on these incentives when making investments in wind and solar projects.  Without them, projects will be canceled and we will be no closer to the goal of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels," Bingaman said. 

"We've now tried seven times in the past two years to get a bill passed through both chambers of Congress.  It would be a big mistake for our country to let these renewable tax incentives expire," he said.

The most recent version of the bill would have:

·         Extended the production tax credit by one year for wind and by three years for other renewable sources, and adds promising marine renewable (such as waves and tides) as eligible sources.

·         Made a key 8-year extension of the solar energy and fuel cell investment tax credit, which gives companies the certainty they need to make additional capital investment to US solar facilities while enabling businesses to adopt technologies that will significantly benefit our environment.

·         Included a long-term extension of the residential energy-efficient property credit, through 2016, while doubling the annual credit cap from $2,000 to $4,000 and broadening the range of energy-efficient technologies from which consumers can choose.

·         Established a new credit for qualified plug-in electric drive vehicles, starting at a $3,000 and increasing for each kilowatt hour of additional battery capacity.