In September, 2008, the US Congress passed a $700 financial bailout package, H.R. 1424, entitled the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Folded into the final version of the bill was a previously separate piece of legislation known as the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008, which included $10.8 billion in energy incentives, of which $2.8 billion represented tax breaks for the coal industry.[1]
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va. was one of the leading advocates of the tax breaks for coal. The provisions include incentives for carbon capture and storage technology and for coal-to-liquids technology.[2]
The bill also extends tax breaks for renewable energy and energy efficiency:
. Extends the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit through 2009 for wind and 2010 for other renewables.
. Extends the Investment Tax Credit for solar and fuel cell technologies through 2016, removes the $2,000 cap, and expands it to include small wind, geothermal and combined heat and power.
. Extends the Biodiesel Production Tax Credit through 2009 and closes the Òsplash and dashÓ loophole, under which biodiesel that is imported then exported is eligible for the tax credit.
. Authorizes $800 million in new Clean Renewable Energy Bonds for state, local and tribal governmentsÕ public power providers and electric cooperatives.
. Extends the Tax Credits for Energy Efficient Homes through 2009.
. Extends the Tax Deduction for Energy Efficient Commercial Buildings through 2013.
. Extends the Manufacturer Tax Incentives for Efficient Appliances through 2010.
. Creates a new tax credit of up to $7,500 for Plug-In Electric Vehicles.
Coal provisions include:
. $1.4 billion in tax breaks over 10 years to power projects that will capture and store at least 65 percent of their total carbon dioxide emissions;
. $1.1 billion for a $20 per ton tax credit for carbon capture and storage.
The coal investment credit will cost $389 million in the first year of implementation, according to the Congressional Budget Office.[3]