18 December 2015

Why The $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Is Good News For Renewables

Why The $1.1 Trillion Spending Bill Is Good News For Renewables

from http://www.popsci.com/government-spending-package-is-good-news-for-renewables

General Electric

Offshore wind turbines

Today, Congress passed the $1.1 trillion government spending package for 2016. And among the many things tucked away inside of it was some good news for renewable energy. The spending package includes an Investment Tax Credit and Production Tax Credit for solar and wind energy.

The 30 percent ITC for solar energy will extend for three years, when it will start decreasing incrementally until it's at 10 percent in 2022. And for the wind industry, the package extends the PTC for 2016, declining incrementally each year until 2020.

Fortune reports that the extension could lead to an increase of solar installations in the "U.S. by 54 percent through 2020," and the credit for wind power might just keep America's wind boom blowing afterall.