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3 Ways to Profit from the Renewable Energy Bill

Dept. of Futile Gestures: House Passes Energy Tax Credits, To No Avail
blogs.wsj.com/environm.../
September 26, 2008, 3:02 pm
Posted by Keith Johnson

"Put away the champagne, and park those plans to buy new solar panels for the roof.

The House passed its version of the energy and tax package, which is different from the Senate version and which isn't to the White House's liking.

That means, for all intents and purposes, that the long-awaited renewal of tax credits for renewable energy are on hold again—unless the House and Senate can somehow reconcile their different versions over the weekend and avoid a White House veto. The other alternative is that Congress comes back for a tenth time in a lame-duck session after the election to try to tackle energy tax policy again.

Both the House and Senate had included some juicy incentives for all sorts of energy, from a one-year extension for wind-power tax credits to fat incentives for homeowners to install pricey solar-power systems. But the House's insistence on actually paying for the tax credits with tax hikes elsewhere appears to have derailed what looked like the best shot at renewing the credits.

The legislative stalemate will just prolong the agony for America's clean-energy sector...."