Senator Feingold Supports Effort To Boost Renewable Energy

Joins Bipartisan Effort to Ensure Clean Energy Tax Incentives Don’t Expire at the End of the Year

January 30, 2008 -- Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is part of a bipartisan group of senators working to give a boost to renewable energy and energy efficiency. In a letter to Senate leadership, Feingold and his colleagues called for an extension of clean energy tax incentives, set to expire at the end of the year, as a way to encourage the growth of “green jobs.” The incentives are set to expire this year, and renewable energy companies are already reporting a decrease in investment due to the uncertainty of the incentives. The letter was signed by a bipartisan group of 32 other senators.

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“We should constantly be trying to find ways to boost renewable energy, improve energy efficiency, and move away from our dependence on oil,” Feingold said. “These tax incentives are a great way to invest in the creation of green jobs – jobs that invest in renewable energy, get people working to improve energy efficiency, and help bring down the skyrocketing energy costs burdening so many American families.” According to industry estimates, more than 100,000 Americans could be put to work in 2008 with clean energy production tax credits.

The clean energy and energy efficiency tax incentives were first authorized in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, but they will all be expired by the end of 2008. Feingold supports renewing these tax incentives to promote renewable energy and improve energy efficiency (such as in buildings, appliances, and other technologies), as well as providing additional funding for weatherizing homes.

“These tax incentives will build on the recently enacted energy bill, which I supported, to set our nation’s energy policy in a new direction,” Feingold said. “We need to continue encouraging innovative approaches to meeting our nation’s energy needs like technology that lowers residential energy costs, generates new manufacturing and construction jobs, and is environmentally sustainable.”

Source: Senator Russ Feingold