Inside Clean Energy: Clean Energy Wins Big in Covid-19 Legislation
Wind energy on land and offshore, along with solar, get tax credits in the U.S. stimulus bill; Belgium to get energy storage for its grid from a Google backup battery.
December 24, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, walks to his office from the Senate Floor at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on Dec. 18, 2020. Credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
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Clean energy industries got their biggest legislative win in a long time this week, thanks to provisions tucked into the $900 billion Covid-19 stimulus relief bill passed by Congress on Monday.
Will Renewables Finish Ahead of Coal in 2020?
John Rogers, Senior energy analyst | December 23, 2020, 9:18 am EDT
No question about it: It’s been a marathon, not a sprint, getting through this year fit for the history books. And that’s one theme that’ll stick with me about 2020: the cross-country race for the White House, the relay between the virus onset and the vaccine creation and deployment, the race against time in the face of mounting climate impacts.
Related to the last one is a race in our power sector: the race to make sure that clean energy becomes the primary way we make our electricity. And we might be hitting another major milestone in that journey. Though the numbers aren’t final yet, 2020 might just be the first time in US history that, on an annual basis, renewable energy overtakes coal in the power sector.
The Energy Act of 2020 includes a two-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) used by solar power generators (keeping the ITC at 26% through year-end 2022 instead of falling to 22% in calendar year 2021), a one-year extender for the production tax credit (PTC) used by wind developers, and a new 30% ITC for offshore wind projects that commence construction by the end of 2025.
Wind and solar generation, energy efficiency and carbon capture all won tax break extensions in the massive stimulus and budget bill that was poised for approval by Congress Monday night.
The Energy Act of 2020 includes a two-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) used by solar power generators (keeping the ITC at 26% through year-end 2022 instead of falling to 22% in calendar year 2021), a one-year extender for the production tax credit (PTC) used by wind developers, and a new 30% ITC for offshore wind projects that commence construction by the end of 2025.