Congress Should Extend Energy Efficiency and Solar Energy Tax Incentives
Letter from UCS and other Organizations to the Senate Finance Committee Regarding the Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives Extension 2006 (S. 3628)
On October 2, 2006, UCS co-signed a letter to the Senate Finance Committee with 32 other organizations calling for an extension of energy efficiency and solar energy tax incentives enacted by the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Background:
Increasing energy efficiency and renewable energy is an essential near-term strategy to balance the demand and supply of tight natural gas markets and help bring natural gas prices down. A recent analysis by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) and Energy
and Environmental Analysis (EEA) shows the potential of energy efficiency to achieve these goals. The analysis, using the same natural gas market model as used by the National Petroleum Council, found that reductions in natural gas and electricity use of 4 to 5 percent over a five year period could reduce natural gas prices by more than 20 percent.
Preliminary estimates by ACEEE are that if the EXTEND Act (S. 3628) were adopted, the two year EPAct incentives plus the additional EXTEND incentives would reduce U.S. natural gas use by about 3 trillion cubic feet over the 2006-2020 period (almost enough to serve California and New York for a year), can reduce peak electric demand by about 12,500 megawatts by 2020 (equivalent to 42 power plants of 300 MW each) and can reduce consumer energy bills by about $78 billion over the 2006-2020 period.
