On Feb. 2, President Obama released his fiscal year 2016 budget, including money for his climate change agenda, both in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing to adapt to climate change effects. Items include offering incentives for states to reduce their reliance on coal-fired power; $1.29 billion for the Global Climate Change Initiative; $400 million to map flood risks; $200 million for a Dept of Agriculture to plan for extreme weather events; and funding for coastal, drought, and wildfire resilience programs. There will likely be a budget fight with Congressional Republicans, who mainly campaigned against spending on climate initiatives. The Senate has already passed a rule ordering approval of the Keystone Pipeline project (with some Democrats joining Republicans), but not by enough votes to overturn a likely veto. Congress will likely work to defeat other proposed rules, such as the USEPA’s Clean Power Plan.

The fiscal year 2016 budget request is $29.9 billion for the Dept of Energy (10% increase). The DOE would have about $5 billion to spend on clean energy technology programs. The USEPA’s fiscal year 2016 budget request is $8.6 billion (6% increase). This includes large increases for the administration’s latest climate change initiatives. This will come at the expense of some traditional environmental programs.

For energy upgrade planning, the budget request seeks to make permanent the renewable energy production tax credit and investment tax credit and reduce many oil and gas tax incentives. The budget would permanently extend the deduction for energy efficient commercial building property, provide a CO2 investment and sequestration tax credit; extend the current tax credit for 2nd generation biofuel production; provide a tax credit for the production of advanced technology vehicles; provide a tax credit for medium and heavy-duty alternative-fuel commercial vehicles; extend the tax credit for the construction of energy-efficient new homes; and reduce excise taxes on liquefied natural gas to bring it into parity with diesel fuel. The House Ways & Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee have not indicated how or when it will move on extending the large number of tax incentives for energy that expired in 2014.

CCES has the experts to help you qualify for all applicable incentives on the federal, state, and local levels so you can gain the maximum financial benefits from your energy upgrade. Contact us today at 914-584-6720 or karell@CCESworld.com.