President Obama signs the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (H.R. 1) into Law
The bill includes a number of provisions that could have a direct impact on solid waste operations. Tax Credit Extensions - Unlike former energy bills, H.R. 1 gives renewable energy operations three different options for how they can receive a tax credit. The bill includes an extension of the section 45 tax credits for an additional three years, making the placed-in-service date December 31, 2013. Landfill gas and waste-to-energy both qualify for this extension. The credit facilities can receive is not capped at thirty-five percent of the capital cost of the facility. LFG and WTE operations will continue to receive 1¢ per kilowatt. A provision is included that will temporarily allow facilities to claim an investment tax credit instead of a production tax credit. Facilities that are placed online by December 31, 2013, may in lieu of the PTC, elect to claim an investment tax credit equivalent to 30 percent of the capital invested in the facility. This provision has been in place in other legislation but only applied to solar operations. One additional provision that may prove valuable is a grant program to be run through the US Department of Treasury. This program would allow renewables eligible under Section 48 tax credits, which in this legislation now includes LFG and WTE, to receive a grant worth 30% of the capital cost of the operation. This will be applicable to projects brought online in 2009 or 2010 or for projects that are placed in service later than 2010, but began construction in either 2009 or 2010. Energy Efficiency Grants - The bill allocates an additional $3.2 billion dollars to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant.This program issues grants for a wide variety of activities including programs to increase participation and efficiency rates for recycling programs. Preference is given to projects that are the most likely to reduce energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.
