WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman David Schweikert (AZ-06) joined House Ways and Means colleagues Rep. Tom Reed (NY-23) and Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-20) in introducing the Energy Sector Innovation Credit (ESIC) Act, a bipartisan energy tax proposal to encourage innovation in the clean energy sector to help rapidly scale-up and diversify new technologies. 

Original co-sponsors of the House legislation include Rep. Tom Reed (NY-23), Rep. Jimmy Panetta (CA-20), Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL-18), Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03), and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05).



“I am proud to join this bipartisan effort with my colleagues to promote clean energy technology in the United States,” said Congressman Schweikert. “The Energy Sector Innovation Credit is a pro-growth, economically responsible tax credit that will provide a critical opportunity for investment in emerging clean energy technologies, and take us one step forward in achieving energy independence.”

“It is time Congress finally act to mobilize American ingenuity and fully unleash the power of new innovative energy technologies,” said Congressman Reed. “We can best do so by passing the Energy Sector Innovation Credit Act, our technology-neutral tax incentive designed to boost the deployment of any cutting-edge clean energy system without the government picking winners and losers. We are proud to reintroduce this critical legislation, and I thank my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for their continued support.”



“To combat the ever-growing climate crisis, we can use the tax code to incentivize clean energy innovation for next-generation technologies,” said Congressman Panetta. “Our bipartisan and bicameral Energy Sector Innovation Credit will leverage the ITC and PTC tax credits to bolster new, emission-reducing technologies and motivate existing energy sources to go greener. This bill will provide the tools necessary to support clean energy entrepreneurship and reach our emissions reductions targets more quickly and efficiently.”

“This tech-neutral tax credit will incentivize innovation across the board for new energy technologies,” Congressman LaHood said. “Facilitating the expansion of cutting edge energy technologies into the marketplace in a fair and fiscally responsible way is aimed at providing a cheaper, more reliable energy portfolio. This new incentive will strengthen our country’s economic competitiveness, as well as reinforce our leadership in global energy innovation, and I am pleased to join this bipartisan group to introduce this legislation.”

“Protecting our environment and improving energy efficiency are issues that everyone, Republicans and Democrats, can come together on,” said Congressman Josh Gottheimer. “I am proud to support this bipartisan legislation, which will lower taxes for wind, solar, and other alternative energy innovators and provide them with incentives to utilize green, efficient, and cutting-edge technology. We need an all-of-the-above approach, focusing on every option that can improve energy efficiency for our country.”

Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and U.S. Senate Finance Committee member Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island) have introduced identical legislation in the U.S. Senate. Original co-sponsors of the Senate legislation include Senate Finance Committee members John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) and Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee members Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado). 



“If we are to meet long-term emissions targets without sacrificing affordable electricity, we need to invest in on-the-horizon technologies that can accomplish our environmental goals, create good-paying American jobs and meet our energy demand,” Senator Crapo said.  “ESIC will incentivize technology-wide clean energy innovation so new, clean technologies can rapidly scale up and compete independently in the market.  Moreover, ESIC automatically scales down credits as technologies’ market penetration ramps up, so taxpayer dollars do not subsidize market-mature technologies.  The U.S. is a leader in energy production because our robust economy allows for innovation and pathways to clean energy solutions, and I will work to get this legislation across the finish line.”



“Major investments in innovative clean energy technologies are needed if we’re going to make a difference in the race against climate change,” Senator Whitehouse said.  “Our bipartisan legislation will accelerate nascent clean technologies that have the potential to compete against heavy-polluting forms of energy and create good jobs in the process.”

Background:

The Energy Sector Innovation Credit is a technology-inclusive, flexible investment tax credit (ITC) or production tax credit (PTC) designed to promote innovation across a range of clean energy technologies, including generation, storage, carbon capture and hydrogen production.  ESIC:

 

• Promotes clean energy innovation by allowing up to a 40 percent ITC or 60 percent PTC for low market penetration technologies across a range of energy sources, including renewables, fossil fuels, and nuclear.

• Phases out credits as technologies mature, which provides an on-ramp for the most innovative technologies to get to market and then compete on their own, rather than allowing Congress to pick winners and losers when temporary credits expire.

• Groups technologies substantively different from one another as determined by experts at the Department of Energy (DOE), national labs and other stakeholders.

• Provides flexibility for unforeseen clean energy technologies to be eligible for ESIC by including an expedited-consideration provision for Congress to take up new technology recommendations from DOE.

ESIC is supported by a number of industry groups, including ClearPath Action, Idaho Falls Power, the Evangelical Environmental Network, the Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, the U.S. Nuclear Industry Council, the Nuclear Energy Institute, Carbon180, Bipartisan Policy Center Action, The Nature Conservancy, American Conservation Coalition, ThirdWay, Nuclear Innovation Alliance, Arnold Ventures, Clean Air Task Force, Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, Xcel Energy, American Public Power Association, Oklo, NuScale, Geothermal Rising, Fervo Energy, Ormat, Geothermal Resource Group, GeothermEx, Long Duration Energy Storage of California, Environmental Defense Fund and National Rural Electric Cooperatives Association.

To read a section-by-section of the legislation, click HERE. 

To read a one-pager of the legislation, click HERE. 

To read the full text of the bill, click HERE. 

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