A new renewable energy bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate. Senator Conrad proposes a bill to extend solar and wind tax credits, as well as other renewable energy provisions.

Energy Bill

As the globe warms up and drastic climate change approaches more quickly each day, it is becoming a legislative priority, albeit slowly, to address renewable energy as an alternative. Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) introduced an energy bill called Breaking Our Long-term Dependence (BOLD) Energy Act. The bill would include extensions on existing tax credits, require the increased use of ethanol, and encourages the manufacture and purchase of fuel-efficient and flexible-fuel vehicles.

The energy bill includes a five-year extension of the solar investment tax credit for businesses through 2012 and an extension of the wind energy production tax credit for the same period. The bill also includes stipulations that US use of ethanol would need to increase from 4.7 billion gallons in 2007 to 30 billion gallons by 2025. The Bill would also establish a new bio-diesel and alternative diesel standard of 250 million gallons in 2008, increasing to two billion gallons in 2015. This would increase demand for alternative fuels and bio-diesel manufacturing plants. To encourage the growth of fuel-efficient and flexible fuel cars (autos that can run on either gas or bio-diesel or any mixture thereof), purchasers of such cars would be eligible for rebates up to $2,500.

On the down side, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) the solar tax credit for residential use would not be extended. Furthermore, big oil hasn’t been forgotten in this bill. A $500 million grant program to fund the development of coal-to-liquid fuel technology has been included. Many environmentalists question the efficiency of coal to oil programs. The energy bill would also aim to help increase domestic oil production. This would be done by increasing tax credits for oil companies that use carbon dioxide to extract more oil from aging oil fields – something they are doing already.


Senator Conrad is not the only legislator with energy bills this month. Senators Charles Grassley and Max Baucus have proposed the Alternative Energy Extender Act, S. 2401. This would extend both the residential and the commercial tax credits for solar an additional three years.

Whether any of these energy bills goes anywhere is at best a guess. Still, an energy bill that emphasizes renewable, clean energy is a good start. The fact that there are two of them is encouraging.