Nearly 50 conservative groups are telling Republican congressional leaders to oppose extending $1.4 billion in clean energy tax credits that the White House and Democratic leaders want to see passed by the end of the year.
The free-market and conservative groups, including Americans for Prosperity, Heritage Action, FreedomWorks, Citizens Against Government Waste and Americans for Tax Reform, began the anti-subsidy push Wednesday with a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., reminding them that the incentives “are a distortion of the tax laws for special interests in the renewable energy industry.”
The $1.4 billion in expiring tax provisions include incentives for wind-power technologies, geothermal heat pumps, fuel cells and combined heat and power facilities. The measures also include proposals to extend renewable fuel infrastructure credits to benefit advanced forms of ethanol and other alternatives to gasoline.
Congress extended tax credits for solar and wind less than a year ago at a cost of $23.8 billion over the next decade when it passed a huge omnibus spending package in December. The additional tax credits were “wisely” left out of that package and should not be included in any proposed energy extenders package at the end of the year.
It’s not just the expense, it’s the consistent failure of the subsidies to achieve their goals, the letter said.
“Government subsidies, loans, mandates and tax policies regarding renewables have consistently failed to deliver on their promises of long-term job creation and economic viability,” the letter said. “Americans deserve access to energy solutions that are affordable and reliable — ones that should be able to stand on their own in the marketplace.
“We encourage you to oppose efforts to use unrelated legislation as a vehicle to extend expiring tax provisions for renewable energy,” it concluded.
The White House has made extending the left-out subsidies a priority in the lame-duck session of Congress, coordinating with the Democratic leadership for what one senior White House adviser called a clean energy “end game.”
Many of the conservative groups signing the letter successfully derailed attempts to pass the additional clean energy provisions earlier this year in an intensive lobbying campaign pushing Republicans to oppose it.
Meanwhile, a coalition of energy efficiency advocates criticized the Environmental Protection Agency for picking winners and losers under a clean energy incentive program developed to augment its landmark climate regulations that are undergoing court review.
The coalition, led by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, “argues that energy efficiency should receive access to the same credits as renewable energy” through the EPA incentive program.
“Simply put, ACEEE and partners are seeking to put energy efficiency on a level playing field with renewable energy.”
The program provides full incentives only for solar and renewable energy. The coalition argues that efficiency is much cheaper and more cost-effective than many other resources and would benefit consumers.
