Heinrich Pushes For Clean Energy Tax Extenders
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Dec. 9, 2019) – As committees in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate continue to discuss a potential legislative package of tax extenders, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), a member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, is calling on Congressional leadership to prioritize clean energy extenders in any tax legislation.
Heinrich, along with U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), today led a letter calling on leadership to extend, expand, and update current tax policies to increase the adoption of zero-emissions generation, energy storage, zero-emission vehicles and energy efficient buildings. This includes prioritizing the Offshore Wind Investment Tax Credit, Storage Investment Tax Credit, Solar and Clean Energy Investment Tax Credit Extension, Energy Efficiency Tax Credit, clean vehicles, and onshore wind.
“Tax incentives have effectively encouraged the production of clean, renewable energy and contributed to the reduction of carbon emissions,” wrote the Senators. “The scientific need for immediate climate action has only become more apparent in recent years, and now we have an opportunity to take significant steps and invest in the American economy. Especially as we work to convey our ongoing commitment to our global partners, we must work together to seize this opportunity to pass bipartisan pro-growth, pro-climate legislation.”
A copy of the letter can be found HERE.
According to the Rhodium Group, extending and expanding tax credits through 2025 for zero-emitting electrical generation could reduce up to 125 million tons of emissions, making up a quarter of America’s national commitment under the current Paris climate agreement targets.
Heinrich has been a champion for building a more secure and robust 21st century energy infrastructure, which is critical to realizing the nation's true clean energy potential and creating jobs. His efforts to secure multi-year extensions of production and investment tax credits in 2015 have spurred major growth in the wind and solar industries in New Mexico.
Also signing the letter today are U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
