Senate Fails to Pass Solar ITC Extension (Again)
By a vote of 51-43, largely along party lines, the Senate once again failed to extend the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar projects. The cloture motion, which would have brought the legislation to the senate chamber floor for debate, thwarted efforts to extend the ITC for an eight-year period and once again put into question the willingness of solar developers to invest in solar projects in the United States.
Senate Bill 3335, which contained the eight-year ITC extension, also would have provided relief to disaster victims and extended the Production Tax Credit for wind projects for an additional year. According to Republican leaders, that party wants to focus on increasing domestic oil production (by lifting bans on offshore drilling and developing new oil wells in the western U.S.) before addressing tax credits for renewable energy. To see how your senator voted, click here.
As noted in my post of July 24, companies such as Abengoa, which has plans to site a large solar thermal project and manufacturing plant in the U.S., have threatened to walk from their projects if the ITC is not extended. According to SEIA, Abengoa's Solana project isn't the only thermal project that may be affected by a failure to extend the ITC. Stay tuned.
For more coverage on the ITC vote, read the AP story online.
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