The Detroit News
Washington -- The head of Midland-based Dow Corning Corp. today urged Congress to help U.S. companies aggressively develop solar, wind and other renewable energy through tax breaks and other policies different countries are using to boost their green industries.
"It is time for America to enact policies that will essentially assure this industry grows here," said Dow president and CEO Stephanie A. Burns, who added her company is investing $5 billion in solar technology.
At a House Ways and Means hearing on green energy, Burns called on Congress to create a tax structure that encourages investment in renewables and to promote awareness among domestic consumers to spur demand.
The hearing, chaired by Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, featured testimony by billionaire oilman and green fuels champion T. Boone Pickens.
Levin called the hearing to gather ideas from Obama administration officials, green-energy experts and business leaders about ways Congress can help the United States move more quickly to reliance on renewable energy sources, such as solar and hydrogen fuel cells.
Already, the federal government is taking steps. The $787 billion economic stimulus bill, for example, included $2.3 billion in investment tax credits for manufacturers that retool and expand facilities in the United States to produce advanced energy equipment. President Barack Obama has called for $5 billion more in such tax credits.
Witnesses urged more steps to ensure the United States can compete in the green-energy arena with China, which is furiously pursuing green technologies, and other countries.
"While jobs are created when we construct a solar facility," Levin said, "still more jobs are created when the components that are used in that facility are manufactured here in the United States.
"If we are not aggressive about expanding our green manufacturing capacity, these manufacturing jobs will be created overseas and the United States will become more reliant on products that are produced outside of our borders," Levin said.
But Rep. Dave Camp of Midland, the ranking Republican on the committee, warned against taking away favorable tax policies for the oil and gas and the coal industries, which produce most of the nation's energy.
Camp noted that in 2009, 83 percent of U.S. energy was supplied by fossil fuels, compared with 9 percent from nuclear plants and only 8 percent from solar, wind and other renewables.
"You cannot increase the cost of producing 85 percent of the energy being used today and expect consumers or employers to benefit from tax incentives that are going to less than 10 percent of the energy being used today," Camp said. "The math just doesn't add up."
"It is time for America to enact policies that will essentially assure this industry grows here," said Dow president and CEO Stephanie A. Burns, who added her company is investing $5 billion in solar technology.
At a House Ways and Means hearing on green energy, Burns called on Congress to create a tax structure that encourages investment in renewables and to promote awareness among domestic consumers to spur demand.
The hearing, chaired by Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, featured testimony by billionaire oilman and green fuels champion T. Boone Pickens.
Levin called the hearing to gather ideas from Obama administration officials, green-energy experts and business leaders about ways Congress can help the United States move more quickly to reliance on renewable energy sources, such as solar and hydrogen fuel cells.
Already, the federal government is taking steps. The $787 billion economic stimulus bill, for example, included $2.3 billion in investment tax credits for manufacturers that retool and expand facilities in the United States to produce advanced energy equipment. President Barack Obama has called for $5 billion more in such tax credits.
Witnesses urged more steps to ensure the United States can compete in the green-energy arena with China, which is furiously pursuing green technologies, and other countries.
"While jobs are created when we construct a solar facility," Levin said, "still more jobs are created when the components that are used in that facility are manufactured here in the United States.
"If we are not aggressive about expanding our green manufacturing capacity, these manufacturing jobs will be created overseas and the United States will become more reliant on products that are produced outside of our borders," Levin said.
But Rep. Dave Camp of Midland, the ranking Republican on the committee, warned against taking away favorable tax policies for the oil and gas and the coal industries, which produce most of the nation's energy.
Camp noted that in 2009, 83 percent of U.S. energy was supplied by fossil fuels, compared with 9 percent from nuclear plants and only 8 percent from solar, wind and other renewables.
"You cannot increase the cost of producing 85 percent of the energy being used today and expect consumers or employers to benefit from tax incentives that are going to less than 10 percent of the energy being used today," Camp said. "The math just doesn't add up."
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