US: Senators call for extension on key energy tax credits

Twenty-four U.S. senators are asking the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee to renew a slate of tax credits for renewable energy and efficiency, some of which are set to expire at the end of the year.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) took the lead on the letter, sent to Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus and the committee's ranking member, Orrin Hatch. In it, Markey identified 10 different tax provisions designed to benefit clean energy that the senators want to see extended as soon as possible. Twenty-two Democrats and two Independents, Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine, signed the letter, which argues that the tax incentives help create jobs while lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

The credits include the expiring Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit, which grants credits to operators based on the kilowatts of wind or geothermal energy their facilities generate.

None of these credits were included in the budget deal that passed in the House last week, and which is expected to go up for a vote in the Senate this week.

Source: The Huftington Post