Spending Bill Aims To Reduce Emissions, Spur Energy Development
The spending package Congress is poised to vote on Monday includes investments in clean energy and provisions to capture carbon pollution and reduce the use of powerful greenhouse gasses. In what supporters are hailing as a win in the battle against climate change, the legislation would aim to phase down the use of the greenhouse gases, called hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), over the next 15 years. The legislation also aims to forward the development of clean energy from a variety of sources including solar, wind and nuclear fuel.
By Rachel Frazin The Hill. December 21, 2020.
Solar, Wind Tax Credit Extensions And Energy R&D Package In Spending Bill Before Congress
The massive spending bill awaiting passage by the U.S. Congress on Monday could include $35 billion in energy research and development programs, a two-year extension of the Investment Tax Credit for solar power, a one-year extension of the Production Tax Credit for wind power projects, and an extension through 2025 for offshore wind tax credits — a significant last-minute boost for clean energy industries. These clean energy provisions are included in a $1.4 trillion federal spending and tax extension package negotiated by congressional leaders over the weekend alongside a $900 billion coronavirus relief package. Summaries of the energy provisions included in the bill were provided by the office of Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-New York), and Schumer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) highlighted them in a Sunday summary of the legislation’s contents.
By Jeff St. John Greentech Media. December 21, 2020.
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New Stimulus Bill Includes $35.2 Billion For New Energy Initiatives
The new economic stimulus proposal that has been approved by Congress includes roughly $35.2 billion for energy initiatives. The spending is split between the Energy Act of 2020 and the Energy for the Environment Act, and both include new money for big technology initiatives. The biggest winners are photovoltaics, new transportation technologies, and energy efficiency technologies.
By Jonathan Shieber. Yahoo Finance. December 21, 2020.
The US Stimulus Bill Could Be The Most Important Climate Legislation Congress Has Ever Passed
The stimulus bill that appears likely to pass the US Congress this week won’t just help the economy—it could help save the climate. The bill also contains a surprise bonus for the climate: a bipartisan measure to enact new limits on hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), an extremely potent greenhouse gas used in air conditioning and refrigeration. HFC emissions are 12,000 times more effective at trapping heat than carbon dioxide. In 2016, the world came together to curb harmful HFCs when 197 countries signed the Montreal Protocol—but the US wasn’t among them. Now, the stimulus bill would force the US into compliance with the protocol’s Kigali amendment. While HFC regulation is the crowning jewel of the bill’s climate action items, it also includes $35.2 billion for research on carbon removal, renewables, energy storage, and other low-carbon technologies, as well as extending key tax clean energy tax credits.
By Tim McDonnell. Quartz Media. December 21, 2020.
