The Ever-Evasive Tax Credit Renewal

As most of you already know, the Senate passed House Bill 6049 as amended last Tuesday, Sept. 23 by a 93 to 2 vote with 5 abstentions. Today, the House passed its final version by a 226-166 but according to a story in the Tucson Citizen the "White House has (again) threatened to veto the House bill over its funding mechanism, and opponents have called the bill a dead end. Should President Bush veto the energy bill without a challenge by Congress, the credit will expire Dec. 31." If this happens, there might be a last gasp effort during a lame-duck session after the general elections. As the bill now stands, the tax credit for residential solar currently capped at $2000 will be a straight 30%, the same as commercial solar investments. If the bill either dies or is again vetoed by Bush, the tax credit ends December 31. More news, if any, will be reported here. For background on this issue read the Aug 27 post "Who Needs a Tax Credit?" in this blog.

Big Solar Event Next Month in San Diego

The Solar Power International Conference and Expo 2008 is just three weeks away. Billed as the largest solar event in the world, it will run October 13-16 at the San Diego Convention Center. Reported as a sell-out for conferences and daytime exposition, there will be a free public session on Wednesday evening, 6-9 pm, for adults only. This is a business-to-business type of event.