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<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/a>Vermont is Helping to Lead the Nation in Transforming Our Energy System<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n We come from Vermont. We know our small state cannot reverse global warming on our own, but we can provide a model for America which helps lead our nation and the world to a more sustainable and secure energy future. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n We see three major imperatives. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n First, we must act to reverse global warming. The scientific consensus is clear that global warming is real, that it is caused by human activities and that it will only get worse if we do not take bold efforts now. At a time when many members of Congress do not even acknowledge that global warming is happening, in Vermont we are taking action. Vermont has more than 100 grassroots citizen-led town energy committees that are working with state agencies to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and such clean sources of sustainable energy as solar, geothermal, biomass and wind. <\/i><\/span><\/p>\n <\/span>Refundable Federal Tax Credit Could Remove Barrier to Community Wind <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Since it will take a battle to extend federal tax credits for wind power anyway, why not make community wind development easier at the same time? <\/span>
Last month, President Obama\u2019s Treasury Department released proposed reforms to a number of business taxes including the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind power projects. The reform proposal would make the tax credit permanent, but more importantly, it would make it refundable. <\/span>
A regular tax credit reduces the amount of taxes a business or person pays dollar for dollar, down to zero. In the case of the PTC, it provides 2.2 cents for every kilowatt-hour produced by the wind power project, over 10 years. But for the many individuals and businesses that don\u2019t owe a lot of taxes, they have limited use. That\u2019s why there\u2019s an entire \u201ctax equity industry\u201d made up of large banks and Wall Street firms that partner with wind and solar developers to reduce their tax bills. The drawback of these partnerships is that as much as half of the tax credit\u2019s value is consumed by the Wall Street firms and not the renewable energy project.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n