New life for renewable energy tax breaks debated in Senate

摘要

At a Tuesday hearing, senators and industry representativesquestioned whether the US Congress should revive or extend certainrenewable energy tax breaks as costs for the technology have fallen.Although renewable energy has become more competitive withtraditional electricity sources, industry panelists said leaving thecredits in place would lead to further wind and solar generationdevelopment as the US and other countries work to cut greenhousegas emissions in response to climate change. Those perspectivescould influence efforts in Congress to restore recently expired taxincentives for clean energy and lengthen credits that are set to phasedown in the coming years."So many of these renewable technologies are really standing ontheir own now," Senator Lisa Murkowski, chairman of the SenateEnergy Natural Resources Committee, said during the hearing "Are webeyond that time when wind and solar that have enjoyed the benefitsof these tax credits… no longer need them?"