Grassley tax victories in energy bill good news
for biomass project
Key alternative energy production tax incentives from Sen. Chuck Grassley,
ranking member of the Committee on Finance, passed late last week as part of a
comprehensive energy policy bill.
"It makes sense to use the tax code to develop alternative energy," Grassley
said. "Cutting taxes is an effective incentive to encourage positive,
environmentally conscious ways to produce electricity. I'm glad to work with
Senate leaders to advance a good, green energy package."
Velvet Glenn, Chariton Valley Biomass
Project coordinator, says the energy bill is good news for the Chariton Valley
Biomass Project. “The tax incentives will allow switchgrass to become more cost
competitive with other renewable energies. This package will provide a tax
credit of 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour, which is equal to $20 per ton of
switchgrass,” she says.
Elizabeth Paris, Tax Counsel for the United States Senate Finance Committee, who
has worked closely with Senator Grassley and the Chariton Valley Biomass Project
to develop the legislative language, says everyone involved worked very hard to
protect this project. “It’s an amazing project to work on and to contribute to
this effort has been a rewarding experience. This provides the opportunity to
use closed loop biomass to create electricity to restore prairie lands and to
create another income for farmers and ranchers,” Paris says.
In February, the Finance Committee on a
voice vote passed an energy tax incentives package put together by Grassley and
Sen. Max Baucus, committee chairman. Senate leaders agreed to accept the tax
package as an amendment to the energy policy bill after negotiations with
Grassley and Baucus, and late last week the full Senate approved the energy tax
package as part of the broader energy bill. Next, the Senate-passed and House
passed energy bills will go to a conference committee, where members will
reconcile differences between the two bills.
In addition to biomass, the tax package includes numerous alternative energy tax
incentives that Grassley has championed for years, such as wind energy, ethanol,
and biodiesel.
The package includes Grassley's bill, the Growing Renewable Energy for Emerging Needs (GREEN) Act (S. 756), which extends the tax credit for the production of biomass, which Grassley authored and which became law in 1992, and expands the definition of biomass to include saw dust, tree trimmings, agricultural byproducts and untreated construction debris. Also included is the extension of the tax credit for the production of electricity from poultry waste and closed loop biomass co-fired with coal, including the Chariton Valley Biomass Project.
Glenn explains that closed loop biomass refers to growing a crop specifically for energy production. “Prior to this energy bill, tax credits were only available for open loop biomass,” she says.
For more information about the Chariton Valley Biomass Project, contact Glenn at the Chariton Valley RC&D office, 641.437.4376
