Renewable energy tax credits were set to expire at yearend, but they might have beaten the odds. Proposed extenders for energy tax credits made it into a US Senate tax-extenders compromise.US President Barack Obama announced a tax deal late Dec. 6 in which he proposed to temporarily renew Bush administration tax cuts. On Dec. 9, Senate Democrates released a draft of a tax extenders compromise.In a Dec. 10 policy update note, FBR Capital Markets analyst Benjamin Salisbury said he doubts that conservatives will oppose the Bush tax cuts because of the energy extensions.The Senate tax-extenders draft includes a 1-year extension of the renewable energy cash-grant in lieu of investment tax credit. This applies to wind and solar. The draft also includes a 1-year extension of the ethanol excise tax credit.Salisbury notes the draft did not include new incentives for natural gas vehicles as advocated by Texas businessman T. Boone Pickens.
