H.R. 5376, which passed the U.S. Senate on August 7, 2022, has passed the U.S. House of Representatives in a 220-207 vote. The bill modifies and extends through 2024 tax credits for producing electricity from renewable resources, specifically for wind, biomass, geothermal and solar, landfill gas, trash, qualified hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic resources. It also extends the credits for investment in certain energy properties, such as solar, fuel cells, waste energy recovery, combined heat and power, small wind property, and microturbine property, as well as for alternative fuels and fuel mixtures, and biodiesel and renewable diesel.
Among other new tax credits, H.R. 5376 has created ones for the production of clean electricity and for investment in zero-emissions electricity generation facilities or energy storage technology, and the domestic production and sale of qualifying solar and wind components.
The bill provides funding to the Department of Energy (DOE) for interregional and offshore wind electricity transmission planning, modeling and analysis. It also offers for the lease of federal land in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) for offshore wind development. Specifically, the Department of Interior (DOI) may issue leases, easements and rights-of-way in the OCS to produce, transport, store or transmit energy from sources other than oil and gas (e.g., offshore wind energy sources) in land areas previously withdrawn from leasing.
“In addition to extending and expanding a variety of critical energy tax incentives, this piece of legislation will ensure that all utilities can benefit from these incentives, which encourage the critical energy investments they need to continue to use cleaner generating technologies,” comments Joy Ditto, American Public Power Association’s president and CEO. “In the end, this makes these incentives fairer and more effective.”
In addition, the bill expands the definition of the OCS to include land that is within the U.S. exclusive economic zone and adjacent to any territory of the United States and allows DOI to conduct wind lease sales that are in such areas if the leases meet specified criteria.
“The most transformational clean energy package in history is now one step closer to becoming law. The House passage shows that America is prepared to lead the world in the fight against climate change by investing in our communities and workers,” comments Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “The Inflation Reduction Act will drive historic investments in clean energy deployment and manufacturing which will help create millions of new, well-paying careers. In the face of a global energy crisis and rising inflation, the measures in this bill will strengthen America’s energy security by boosting production here at home, all while lowering prices for families through investment in historic levels of low-cost, reliable clean energy.”
The bill provides funding to the Bureau of Land Management for water supply projects, projects to cover water conveyance facilities with solar panels, and drought mitigation in western states.
Image: “Installing solar panels” by OregonDOT is licensed under CC BY 2.0