Word: taxed
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...government doing more to scale up renewable power? Blame our political system, which Al Gore recently described as "sclerotic at a time when these crises require boldness." Case in point: the federal tax credits for renewable energy, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Passed as part of the 2005 energy bill, the credits encourage businesses to invest in alternative energy. Utilities that produce wind power earn 2 cents for every kilowatt generated over the first 10 years of a project's operation. For solar energy, tax credits can be worth...
...money - maybe $1 billion, or less than half a week of the Iraq war. But the cost to the economy - not to mention the fight against climate change - will be far greater. Navigant Consulting, an international firm that studies the energy industry, estimates that the expiration of the renewable tax credit would result in approximately $19 billion in lost investment, and 119,000 lost job opportunities in the U.S. That's because renewables, while getting cheaper all the time, still cost more than fossil fuels. Subsidies can help bridge the gap as renewable technology improves - but that will happen only...
...credits. Supporters of the credits haven't been able to overcome opposition by Republican senators, the White House and a handful of fiscally conservative Democrats, who won't vote for the credits unless they're paid for as they go. Supporters have tried paying for the credits by rescinding tax breaks for oil companies; they've also tried raising the funds by eliminating tax loopholes that benefit hedge fund managers. Even though oil executives and hedge fund managers are perhaps the most widely hated two groups in America, neither plan has worked...
...potential loss of these credits has already impacted development. Acciona, a large Spanish renewable company that launched a major concentrated solar power plant outside Vegas this year, says similar projects will be impossible in the future without an extension of the tax credit. Abengoa, another Spanish company (European companies have dominated this space, largely because their governments provide significantly more generous subsidies to renewables), is planning to build the world's largest solar plant in Arizona, but the CEO of its solar arm told me recently that the project could fall apart if the credit doesn't come through...
...South Carolinians will be irate when they learn their hard-earned tax dollars are being spent to advertise our state as 'so gay,'" Thomas said in a statement. Following the uproar, the state's tourism department refused to pay the $5,000 advertising fee and has asked that the posters be removed, and a state employee has resigned. But as of Wednesday evening, the posters were still hanging in Leicester Square tube station...