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Salazars Sponsor Bills for Federal Solar Tax
Credits, Ethanol Grants
March 26, 2007
U.S. Senator Ken Salazar (D-Colorado) and his
brother, U.S. Representative John Salazar (D-Manassa) have
introduced bills in Congress to advance renewable energy. Ken
Salazar has teamed with Senator Gordon Smith (R-Oregon) sponsored
legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate last month to extend the
credits for solar energy through 2016. The bill is titled the
Securing America's Energy Independence Act and would slightly
expand the limit of tax credits for homeowners and businesses that
invest in solar energy systems. The current solar tax credits, which
are for 30% of the investment and were established under the Energy
Policy Act of 2005, are set to expire at the end of 2008.
Senator Salazar said, “This bill provides a long-term
extension of investment tax credits that will generate thousands of
high-quality jobs in clean energy and make solar power more
affordable for millions of Americans.” For more information, see a
February 15 news release from the Solar Energy Industry Association
at:
http://www.seia.org/solarnews.php?id=135
Last week, Representative John Salazar introduced the
Cellulosic Ethanol Development and Implementation Act. The
bill is a companion to legislation in the U.S. Senate sponsored by
Barbara Boxer (D-California) and has two parts. The first
establishes research and development grants worth $1 billion for
producing cellulosic ethanol for motor vehicles. The recipients
would provide 20% of the funding for the grants.
The second part of the bill would set up a pilot
program for installing E85 pumps at gasoline stations. For more
information, see Congressman Salazar’s March 6 press release at:
http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/co03_salazar/PR_030607.html
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