Legislation to Boost U.S. Grid Efficiency-

A new legislation was recently introduced in the Senate to provide an investment tax credit (ITC) to energy storage facilities. Senate Bill 3617 – the Storage Technology of Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2010 (the “STORAGE 2010 Act”) – would provide up to $1.5 billion in tax credits to storage projects which are connected to the U.S. electric grid. This initiative is intended to support intermittent energy sources, including wind and solar power, while moderating energy demands during peak hours and facilitating a “smart grid” that is thoroughly more reliable in order to improve the U.S. electric grid and provide cheap electricity to the nation. The STORAGE 2010 Act would help improve the efficiency, versatility and reliability of the U.S. electric grid, and would offer more affordable energy storage technologies for homes and businesses. It would offer ITCs for storage systems connected to the electric grid, and on-site energy storage for businesses and homes. The STORAGE 2010 Act would provide a 20 percent ITC for facilities that store energy for delivery or use at a later time, granted that such facilities are connected to the nation’s electric grid. This ITC is capped at $30 million per qualifying project. In tax credit allocation, the Energy Secretary would be required to select projects which are commercially viable and that represent a variety of technologies, applications, and project sizes. Priority would be granted to projects that provide the greatest increase of reliability or economic benefit, that enable the greatest improvement in integration of green energy resources with the grid, or that enable the greatest increase in efficiency in grid operation. The legislation would also offer a 30 percent investment tax credit to businesses and homeowners for on-site storage projects. Those ITCs would be capped at $1 million each year, per qualifying project. If the proposed bill becomes law, the tax incentives would help boost the economy and create a solid foundation for renewable energy generation throughout the nation.