the future of renewable energy

I got an excited phone call yesterday from Deborah Williams, head of the climate group Alaska Conservation Solutions, about goings on in D.C. It had to do with a new attempt in the Senate to restore the renewable energy production tax credits, which give a tax break of a few pennies per kilowatt hour to producers of renewable energy. The way I understand it, the credits get extended every few years, factories crank out wind turbines, utilities put 'em up, and then the credits near their sunset date and everything shuts down until they're extended again. This time around, the House has already extended the credits and the Senate hasn't.
The new attempt in the Senate, according to Grist, is more palatable to some lawmakers because it doesn't fund the credits by taking away tax breaks to oil companies, as previous efforts would have.
So, while AK Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Ted Stevens have turned down two recent efforts to extend the credits, they've both signed on as co-sponsors of this new effort, according to Williams. And that's a big deal.
As for the credits themselves, Williams described them as "vitally important" to the future of renewable energy in Alaska. "The only way that we will get companies to invest in renewable energy in Alaska is if they have these renewable energy production tax credits," she said.
If that's true, the big push here in Juneau to create a state renewable energy fund is small potatoes compared to what's happening in D.C. Projects replacing high-cost diesel in rural areas might pencil out anyway -- especially with a state grant -- but my understanding is that these federal tax credits would sure help.
In other news, Gov. Palin signed the supplemental budget yesterday containing the $300 million for weatherization and energy efficiency programs in the state. That's big. And at least some money will be available for people of any income level.