How Central California Congress members voted. While the US Senate voted overwhelmingly 89 – 8 in a bipartisan way to avoid the “fiscal cliff” the House of Representatives remains a house divided. The House voted 257-167, in favor but delegates from the center of California offered a split decision on the tax measure.
One hundred fifty-one Republicans joined 16 Democrats to vote against the deal, while 172 Democrats voted yes along with 85 Republicans.
Voting against the Senate-backed proposal were GOP House members Devin Nunes and Kevin McCarthy joining the Tea Party wing led by Number 2 GOP leader Eric Cantor while fellow GOP members Denham and Gallegy voted yes along with their GOP majority leader, Mr Boehner. On the Demo side – Jim Costa and Lois Capps voted aye.
Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno said after the vote “Far too many of those serving in this institution lack the will to put the country first and partisan interests last.”
The legislation also includes a one-year extension of the Farm Bill.
Latest Tax Measure Bolsters Renewable Energy
The last minute tax bill approved over New Years include several measures to bolster renewable energy, critical in Central California. These measures include:
Extension of wind energy tax credits, part of the bill to avert the “fiscal cliff” that now moves to President Obama for his expected signature.The version included in the deal would cover all wind projects that start construction in 2013. Companies that manufacture wind turbines and install them sought that definition to allow for the 18-24 months it takes to develop a new wind farms.
Kern County, whose wind energy industry rivals its oil industry has a huge stake in the issue.”The Kern County wind industry is committed to making increased wind generation here a reality,” wrote wind energy representatives Linda Parker and Peter Kelley in the October issue of the Kern Business Journal. “The power of wind is too important to Kern County’s economy, job creation and our own independence to let this opportunity pass by.”
Wind set a new record in 2012 by installing 44 percent of all new electrical generating capacity in America, according to the Energy Information Administration, leading the electric sector compared with 30 percent for natural gas, and lesser amounts for coal and other sources.
However, America’s wind energy workers have been living under threat of the PTC’s expiration for over a year and layoffs had already begun, as companies idled factories because of a lack of orders for 2013. Uncertain federal policies have caused a “boom-bust” cycle in U.S. wind energy development for over a decade.
Half the American jobs in wind energy – 37,000 out of 75,000 – and hundreds of U.S. factories in the supply chain would have been at stake had the PTC been allowed to expire, according to a study by Navigant Consulting.
Biofuels production gets a a boost as well.
Cellulosic biofuels producer tax credit. Under current law, facilities producing cellulosic biofuel can claim a $1.01 per gallon production tax credit on fuel produced before the end of 2012. This provision was created in the 2008 Farm Bill. The provision would extend this production tax credit for one additional year, for cellulosic biofuel produced through 2013. The proposal also expands the definition of qualified cellulosic biofuel production to include algae-based fuel. This provision is estimated to cost $59 million over ten years.
Incentives for biodiesel and renewable diesel. The bill extends for two years, through 2013, the $1.00 per gallon tax credit for biodiesel, as well as the small agri-biodiesel producer credit of 10 cents per gallon. The bill also extends through 2013 the $1.00 per gallon tax credit for diesel fuel created from biomass. This provision is estimated to cost $2.181 billion over ten years.
The biodiesel tax incentive expired on Dec. 31, 2011. A recent study found that the industry would have produced an additional 300 million gallons this year with the tax incentive in place. That would have supported some 19,213 additional jobs, for a total of 83,258 jobs supported by the industry nationwide, according to the study, conducted by Cardno ENTRIX, an international economics consulting firm.
Cellulosic biofuels bonus depreciation. Under current law, facilities producing cellulosic biofuel can expense 50 percent of their eligible capital costs in the first year for facilities placed-in-service by the end of 2012. This provision was created in the 2008 Farm Bill. The provision would extend this bonus depreciation for one additional year for facilities placed-in-service before the end of 2013. The proposal also expands the definition of qualified cellulosic biofuel production to include algae-based fuel. This provision is estimated to cost less than $500,000 over ten years.
Agricultural Programs. Section 701 of the Bill extended all provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill through September 30, 2012 – including funding levels for mandatory programs.