Energy Bill Boosts Coal, Gas Subsidies, Cuts Conservation Funding

[hatrack]

Gee, there's a surprise.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers scaled back support for energy conservation and efficiency programs as part of a $11.5 billion tax package expected to be added Wednesday to a sweeping energy bill that Congress hopes to complete this week.

The agreement, worked out in closed meetings of House and Senate negotiators, funnels about 60 percent of the tax breaks, about $8.5 billion, to traditional energy industries including coal, natural gas and electric companies. Many of the incentives are aimed at promoting new energy technologies.

Efficiency and conservation programs would get $1.3 billion, about a third of what the Senate had approved for such programs when it passed its energy legislation in June. In many cases the savings were achieved by shortening the duration that tax breaks will be available. About $3 billion goes to renewables, mostly tax breaks for wind turbines.

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Sen. Pete Domenici, R-M.M., who headed the Senate side negotiating the bill, said the measure will help diversify the nation's energy portfolio by spurring development of new technologies from the next generation of nuclear reactors to ways to burn coal with less smog-causing and climate-changing pollution. "We mandate more conservation and higher efficiency," said Domenici, citing among other things new efficiency standards for 14 commercial appliances such as large refrigerators and cooling systems.

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Wow, Pete, I'm just bowled over by your committment to conservation. :eyes:

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