Higher Returns than Fossil Fuels
By Sam Hopkins | Friday, September 26th, 2008
The sun shined on solar power and other renewable sectors this week.

The House of Representatives’ major renewable energy tax credit bill moved through the Senate and was set to move on to the White House.

HR 6049, the Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008, had been rejected eight times by the Senate. But the ninth time was the charm, as the bill’s 8-year extension of existing alternative energy tax credits got through with bipartisan approval.

But alas, we Americans know that our representatives never miss an opportunity… to miss an opportunity.

So as of Friday afternoon, House Democrats have scuttled their own bill by introducing a new one, HR 7060, that is weighed down with a provision to pay for renewable tax cuts with money pulled from other sources.

The revenue offsets that the House now wants to cover renewable energy credits may come from tightening loopholes elsewhere in the tax code.

Fiscal conservatives applaud that shift, and budget hawks in both parties are also pushing back against the Paulson bailout plan. But in both cases, they should consider investor confidence as well.

Right now, with the broader market already tilting downward, renewable energy investors should beware the political environment that could allow the solar energy investment tax credit to expire at the end of 2008.

You’ll read more about that from Nick Hodge on Tuesday, after the weekend’s continued negotiations reveal more from Capitol Hill.