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Mr. Sklar, who has worked in renewables and efficiency for over 30 years, is the former Executive Director of both the Solar Energy Industries Association and the National BioEnergy Industries Association, and cofounder of the US export consortium of all the renewable energy trade associations, the US Export Council for Renewable Energy. He was Political Director of The Solar Lobby-- a renewable energy advocacy group founded by the ‘big nine’ US environmental organizations. He served as both Washington Director and Acting Director of the National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT), a federally-funded applied technology institution promoting renewables and energy efficiency for local communities both in the US and globally. He began his career in Washington as an aide to legendary New York Senator Jacob Javits in the mid-1970s, during which time he cofounded the Congressional Solar caucus, where most of the renewable energy legislation was first passed by the US Congress as a result of the oil embargoes. Today, he is President of The Stella Group, Ltd., where he works as a strategic marketing and policy expert for clean distributed energy users and companies.
We spoke about the stimulus bill signed by President Obama, which contains the largest investment in clean and renewable energy America has yet seen. When I asked Mr. Sklar about the bill’s significance, his response gave me the perspective I needed on the issue. “This is the single largest green energy bill in history,” he said.“ It’s a very, very big deal”.
According to Mr. Sklar, the bill is divided into separate units, with about a third of it tied to tax issues. Within the tax provisions there is about $20 billion worth of incentives for biomass, geothermal, solar, water and wind technologies, as well as a host of energy efficiency technologies. Within the bill, tax credits go to residential and commercial energy users, as well as non-profit organizations and municipalities. Residential caps on solar and wind energy were lifted, and wind energy and biomass power production credits are now extended. There are a host of rules which allow the existing tax credits for renewables and efficiency be utilized. The most important one being a simplified formula for taking incentives. In the past, those taking the credits had to deduct every other government incentive; now, they just take 30%.
The second part of the bill is a range of grants. Two that stand out to Sklar are the continuation of the IRS community renewable energy bonds, or CREBS. In this new bill, administered entities that previously couldn’t take tax credits can now apply to the IRS to be eligible for the bonds. The other grant program, the renewable energy grant program administered out of DOE, makes billions of dollars available to those who don’t have a tax liability but can now get a 30% incentive in cold, hard cash.
The third section of assistance comes in the form of formula grants with states. The federal government gives money to the states with certain guidelines. Areas benefiting from the stimulus include weatherization programs, which helps low-income families, energy upgrades for public housing, and grants for hardening critical infrastructure. The money will work its way through various state offices, such as energy offices, economic development offices and others. “Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy will play a part in all of that,” says Mr. Sklar.
Lastly, there were important, industry growing-regulations that made it into the package, such as government procurement of energy efficiency, renewable energy and green power; $6.8 billion worth. “Taxpayers pay the energy bills on those federal buildings,” says Sklar. “We now accelerate the procurement by the government of these American technologies made by American companies... It’s important in this time of economic downturn to create that type of solid market pull.”
When asked about how to think of this package as it relates to renewables and efficiency, Mr. Sklar didn’t hesitate. “This is big in size and scope,” he said. “It’s multi faceted in tax, procurement and grants. It would have greater impact if the economy were humming along in full health, but because it’s moving money to an industry that has been scaling up and growing for a number of years now, it’s going to absolutely push things along strongly. Make no mistake. This means cleaner energy at lower cost to consumers throughout America.”
Sklar made sure that I was aware that this bill is an important tactical play by many people in addition to the president and the U.S. congress. "Credit goes to many of the nation’s mayors, governors, and local officials who have all been working behind the scenes to ensure we got where we did," says Sklar. "They all deserve to be recognized."
In Washington, nothing is for certain, and many times the mediocre becomes the enemy of the good. Forget about trying to get to perfect. But according to Mr.Sklar, this stimulus bill shows that President Obama has stuck to his commitments on clean energy and green jobs. “I’m gratified to see him stick to his promises. He could have put it off and gone to more mundane tasks. The question that he just stood his ground on, is ‘are you going to spend money rebuilding a 20th century economy, or building a 21st century economy?’. This big move is very gratifying to those of us who have worked in the field for the last 30 years.”
Francis Bacon said that great changes are easier than small ones. It feels as though America has chosen to make great changes to its energy economy after years of inaction and incremental adjustments. Only the future will give us the perspective we’ll need to assess the impact.
