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News from Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
For Immediate Release
Contact: Russ Levsen, 202-226-4449
Chip Weiskotten, 202-226-8553

GROUNDBREAKING RENEWABLE ENERGY LEGISLATION PASSES
KEY HOUSE COMMITTEE

Herseth Sandlin: Represents Significant Step Forward For Wind, Biodiesel in South Dakota

June 20, 2007, Washington, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin today praised the passage of important renewable energy legislation from the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill, H.R. 2776, the Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Tax Act of 2007, includes a range of significant and expanded incentives for the production of renewable energy, particularly wind and biodiesel, in South Dakota.

Rep. Herseth Sandlin said, “This is a groundbreaking bill that significantly advances South Dakota’s role in our national energy policy. The incentives included in today’s bill will ensure the continued development and expansion of wind energy and biodiesel production in South Dakota.”

Rep. Herseth Sandlin, co-chair of the House Rural Working Group, has been working with her colleagues on Ways and Means to advocate for national tax policy that reflects the strengths of agricultural producers in rural America. She has been a strong supporter of legislation in the House that encapsulates many of the proposals in H.R. 2276 and has used her position leading the House Rural Working Group to broaden geographic support for renewable energy as a key way to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, strengthen national security, improve the environment and revitalize rural economies. Rep. Herseth Sandlin said, “We need to re-prioritize our national energy policy in a way that recognizes the unique contributions our agricultural producers are ready, willing and able to make.”

H.R. 2776 provides a range of renewable energy and conservation provisions, including the following, which are relevant to South Dakota energy producers:

• Long term extension and modification of the renewable energy production tax credit. The bill extends for four years the production tax credit, thorough December 31, 2012, for wind and biomass facilities. This extension will allow for enhanced planning and certainty for producers and investors alike.
  
• Extension of the biodiesel production tax credit. The bill extends for two years, through December 31, 2010, the $1.00 and 50 cent per gallon production tax credits for biodiesel and the small biodiesel producer credit of 10 cents per gallon.
  
• New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (“CREBs”). The bill authorizes $2 billion of new clean renewable energy bonds for public power providers and electric cooperatives, including South Dakota’s rural electric cooperatives. Qualifying projects include facilities that generate electricity from resources including wind and biomass.
  
• Extension and increase of the alternative refueling stations tax credit. The bill provides a tax credit to businesses, like gas stations, that install alternative fuel pumps such as those that dispense E85 fuel. The bill also extends this credit through the end of 2010. Additionally, the bill increases the 30% alternative refueling property credit (capped at $30,000) to 50% (capped at $50,000).

Rep. Herseth Sandlin noted that the legislation is entirely revenue neutral through the repeal of excessive tax breaks and subsidies for oil and gas companies, in adherence with fiscally responsible pay-as-you-go spending rules in the House.

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Congresswoman Stephanie Herseth Sandlin serves South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition, a group of moderate Democrats committed to fiscal discipline and strong national security, and is co-chair of the Rural Working Group, which is dedicated to raising the profile of issues important to rural America. She also serves on three committees vital to South Dakota’s interests: Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs and Natural Resources. In the 110th Congress, Rep. Herseth Sandlin was appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.