The Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) today thanked Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and the many Senate co-sponsors for proposing a technology neutral tax credit for domestic production of clean transportation fuel. BIO supports Sen. Wyden’s efforts to ensure that any tax reform package Congress considers includes incentives that promote the development and production of advanced and cellulosic biofuels. Sen. Wyden’s Clean Energy for America Act proposes a set of long-term energy tax incentives that are available to all technologies and promote performance based clean energy in the United States.
Brent Erickson, executive vice president of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section, stated, “BIO and its members appreciate Senator Wyden’s efforts to put together a technology neutral incentive that will stimulate investment and growth of biofuels and other forms of clean energy.
“The biobased economy and industrial biotechnology contribute greatly to the U.S. economy. Enacting long-term supportive tax policy will generate even greater domestic growth of this industry. Sustained, forward-looking policy will give technology developers and investors confidence in the market for clean energy.
“Targeted tax policies can enable emerging technologies in advanced biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biobased products to overcome the challenging capital environment for first-of-a-kind biorefinery construction and allow them to bring their technologies to commercial deployment. Moving forward we encourage Sen. Wyden, the Senate Finance Committee, and Congress also to develop and support tax incentives for renewable chemicals and biobased products and include them in any tax reform legislation.
“While Congress continues to work on tax reform it is critical to extend the tax incentives for development of advanced and cellulosic biofuels that expired at the end of 2016 – including the Second Generation Biofuel Producer Tax Credit (PTC), the Special Depreciation Allowance for Second Generation Biofuel Plant Property, the Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Fuels Credit, and the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit.”
Text of the bill can be found at: https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Clean%20Energy%20for%20America%20Act%20(002).pdf.
