This week, Reps. Ron Estes (R-Kansas) and Mike Thompson (D-California) reintroduced the Financing Our Energy Future Act. This bipartisan bill gives renewable energy projects access to master limited partnerships (MLP), a tax structure currently only available to oil, gas and coal projects.
"Americans benefit from a variety of energy options, and our country is stronger when we have an all-of-the-above energy strategy that provides reliability and consumer choice," said Rep. Estes. "The Financing Our Energy Future Act will provide consistency among energy sectors by opening up the existing tax structure of master limited partnerships (MLP) to renewable energy projects, encouraging growth, creating jobs, and strengthening American energy dominance. Our tax code shouldn't be picking winners and losers – especially in American energy production – and this bill provides parity for all U.S. energy projects that will bolster production and encourage market-based competitiveness."
"The Financing Our Energy Future Act gives renewable energy projects access to tax incentives currently only available to oil, gas, and coal projects," said Rep. Thompson. "This legislation is a critical step in increasing renewable energy production and delivering investments in American energy. I'm pleased to work with Rep. Estes on this bill."
A master limited partnership is a business structure taxed as a partnership but whose ownership interests are traded like corporate stock on a market. By statute, MLPs have only been available to investors in energy portfolios for oil, natural gas, coal extraction and pipeline projects. This bill levels the playing field to make renewable energy sources more competitive for private capital investments.
Newly eligible energy resources under this legislation would include solar, wind, marine and hydrokinetic energy, fuel cells, energy storage, combined heat and power, biomass, waste heat to power, renewable fuels, biorefineries, energy-efficient buildings and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kansas) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware) introduced companion legislation in the Senate earlier this year.
Click here to download the legislation.
