Treasury Grant Program extension in Senate’s hands

Proponents of renewable energy have staked high hopes on the extension of the Treasury Grant Program, which has provided cash grants for renewable energy projects in lieu of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC). The cash grant program is set to expire at the end of this year, which has caused many renewable energy developers to become tentative about project planning.

All bets are on now after the Senate proposed a one-year extension of the program under the text of the tax bill introduced on Dec. 9, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). A cloture vote on the tax bill is scheduled for Dec. 13 at 3 p.m.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., led a group of 17 senators and 81 House members in calling for the Treasury's cash grant program to be included in tax legislation. In letters requesting the extension, senators and members of the House urged their leaders to renew the grant program, calling it essential to wind, solar and other renewable energy industries. Some senators said they would have difficulty supporting tax legislation that failed to include the Treasury Grant Program’s extension.
According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), through February of 2010 the program had already financed over 300 solar projects and created more than 10,000 new jobs. In addition to dealing with the short term problem of the tax credit market, it has also allowed many small- and medium-sized businesses to take advantage of the cash subsidy without having to use the full ITC.

A study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found the wind energy projects that were made possible by the Treasury Grant Program were responsible for more than 55,000 jobs.

"Factories across the country will restart production lines, recall workers and avoid layoffs that would have followed the loss of this key incentive for wind energy, which with consistent policies like this one can generate 20 percent of America's electricity within 20 years," Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association, said in a statement on Dec. 9.