Statement of the Hon. Mark Udall, a Representative in Congress from the State of Colorado

I want to join Rep. Jay Inslee to speak in support of the Clean Energy Incentives Act, a bill he will soon introduce with my support and with the support of a number of other Members who are interested in seeing a broad range of incentives provided for the development of clean energy technologies.

Increasing the contributions of clean energy technologies to our energy mix requires a combination of policy tools. For best effect, we should implement a number of tools simultaneously. At the most basic level, we should increase funding for the Department of Energy’s research and development programs for renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. To increase the integration of these technologies into the marketplace, we should require that a certain percentage of power generation come from new renewable technologies such as wind, solar thermal, photovoltaic, geothermal, or biomass. To encourage their broad adoption among the public, we should hold up the federal government as a role model and require that it purchase an ever-growing portion of its energy needs from renewables. To ensure the development of these technologies isn’t blocked by transmission obstacles, we should push the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to integrate alternative energy sources into the electric utility grid.

Finally, perhaps the most important policy tool to help accelerate commercialization of clean energy technologies is the tax credit. By creating incentives for the development and purchase of these technologies, we can generate environmental benefits, provide reliable sources of power for business as well as homeowners, reduce our nation’s dependence on foreign oil supplies, help commercialize clean technology, enhance U.S. technology leadership, and create economic benefits for the nation.

I joined Rep. Inslee and a number of other Members in working to craft a bipartisan and comprehensive clean energy tax package. We’ve finally done that in the Clean Energy Incentives Act. The legislation covers all the bases, from renewables to efficiency technologies. The bill would expand the renewable resource tax credit to include more alternative energy sources; encourage the use of alternative fuel vehicles and alternative fuels and related infrastructure; promote energy efficient technologies for certain commercial and industrial property, new and existing homes, and appliances; and encourage the use of demand management technologies and investment in distributed energy generation powered by renewable energy and fuel cells.

In drafting the legislation, we consulted closely with clean energy advocates representing a spectrum of technologies. After months of meetings, we are confident we have compiled a package of incentives that best addresses the needs of the various clean energy sectors and the needs of this country to move toward a new energy future. We feel that our approach is comprehensive and that it should serve as the basis for any energy tax package that this Committee considers.