US senator Wyden released an energy bill to benefit biomass
By Rubina Obaid
US Senator Ron Wyden included a new technology neural tax credit under Clean Energy of America Act in order to foster national tax policy into the right direction. The purpose behind is to create tax incentives for producing clean energy and promoting new technologies. The bill proposed long term performance based energy tax system considering prevailing energy incentives system as overly complex. Wyden’s clean energy act will support in reducing green house gas emission and long term stability, which will create more business opportunities and new investment avenues in American Energy Production.
The Act’s incentives of clean electricity include technology neutral tax credit for having better and efficient biomass thermal boiler and furnaces. The energy bill package was presented by Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R Alaska and Joe Manchin, D-W.V on 27th February 2020. The alteration in the act offered by Wyden specifically addresses expiring policies of energy tax to provide clean transportation, electricity and efficient energy. It will drive economic growth in the field of smooth transition for safe electricity production which will be reliable and affordable for consumers.
One of the sections of amendment would endorse tax credit for efficient biomass thermal property. Taxpayers may claim tax credits for up to thirty percent of the costs for any specific energy efficient property they acquire to install in their homes. Certain provisions of Biomass Thermal Utilization Act will be implied to expand residential energy credit. The Amendment would also expand the renewable electricity production tax credit that is PTC. Taxpayers may claim production tax credit worth up to 2.4 cents per kilowatt for electricity produced from a renewable source that includes biomass. This amendment would extend production tax for next three years till the end of 2023.
The amendment also entails elements of Financing Our Future Act. This bill is proclaimed to have advance investors in having access of clean energy projects through using Master Limited Partnership (MLPs). It is business structure which is taxed as a partnership but ownership interests are traded like other corporate stock in the market. Currently MLPs are available only to investors in the portfolio of energy sector which are oil, natural gas, coal extraction and pipeline projects. The amendment will provide equality for earning income from renewable energy sources.
Wyden amendment has been widely applauded by Pellet Fuels Institute Alliance and For Green Heat for the inclusion of biomass thermal energy requisitions. “After nearly a decade of fighting for better tax parity for cleaner, more efficient wood and pellet heaters, we are delighted that Senator Wyden has added the residential sections of the BTU Act to the legislation” said by the president of the Alliance for Green Heat .
It has further been added by Tim Portz, executive director of PFI that biomass thermal treatment would have been evidently absent without Senator Wyden’s amendment and Wyden recognizes the role clean renewable pellet heating can play in country’s comprehensive energy strategy. Moreover, it is gratifying to know that the message has been heard and we are hopeful that bi-partisan appeal and endorsement of wood heat during our fly in was translated in to a fair hearing of this amendment.
