Georgia+and+US+energy+Initiatives

Governor Sonny Perdue has committed all state agencies in Georgia to reduce energy consumption 15 percent below 2007 levels by 2020. The Governor also challenged Georgia’s citizens, businesses and local governments to match the state's effort The clean energy property tax credit is based on the cost of clean energy property placed into service in Georgia or the amount of wood residuals transported or diverted to a renewable biomass qualified facility. The maximum credit for each installation is limited to the lesser of either 35% of the cost of the clean energy property or the caps as identified in the statute. For clean energy property, the credit is taken for the taxable year in which the property is placed into service. There is a five year carry-forward provision for the clean energy property tax credits. The taxpayer can not claim more than one credit for the same piece of clean energy property (for example, installation of a ENERGY STAR geothermal heat pump in a new building that exceeds ASHRAE standards by 30% can not reap both tax credits). Responsibility for the implementation and accounting of this tax incentive will be shared by the Georgia Department of Revenue (DOR), Georgia Forestry Commission (GFC) and Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA). DOR will be responsible for reporting annually the number of taxpayers claiming the tax incentive, the cost of business property and clean energy property related to credits claimed, and the total tax credits claimed. GEFA will be responsible for reporting the energy and economic benefits of the clean energy property tax credits. GFC will be responsible for assigning values to the wood residues on a per tonnage basis. The burden of proving eligibility for a tax credit rests on the taxpayer, and the taxpayer is required to maintain adequate records. Clean energy property tax credits apply to:
 * Georgia**
 * The clean energy property tax credits apply to solar, wind and energy efficiency projects, geothermal heat pumps, and certain biomass equipment for making electricity. There are caps on the credits for certain residential and non-residential installations.
 * Quality standards, such as ENERGY STAR for geothermal heat pumps and a high efficiency standard (exceeding ASHRAE 90.1.2004 by 30%) for lighting and buildings, determine eligibility for the tax credit.
 * For biomass facilities, the clean energy property tax credit applies only to gasification/pyrolysis processes.
 * For the purposes of the wood residuals tax credit, wood residuals include urban wood waste, land clearing residues, and pellets, but not wood from US National Forest. Wood residuals must be delivered to qualifying facilities that are biomass-to-electricity plants that sell electricity to a third party.
 * Annual Cap**: $2.5 Million for BOTH the Clean Energy Property and Wood Residuals Tax Credit (first come, first served basis)
 * Sunset for the Clean Energy Property and Wood Residuals Tax Credit**: December 31, 2012
 * Provisions of Tax Credit**
 * Installment of Tax Credit**
 * Tax Credit Administration**
 * Certification**
 * Renewable Energy
 * Solar Photovoltaic Panels and Thermal Electric Systems
 * Solar Thermal Systems
 * Wind Systems
 * Biomass Facilities
 * Energy Efficiency
 * ENERGY STAR qualified Geothermal Heat Pump Systems
 * Lighting Retrofit Projects.
 * 'Lighting retrofit project' means a lighting retrofit system that employs dual switching (ability to switch roughly half the lights off and still have fairly uniform light distribution), delamping, daylighting, relamping, or other controls or processes which reduce annual energy and power consumption by 30 percent compared to the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers 2004 standard.
 * Energy Efficient Buildings
 * Energy Efficient building' means for other than single-family residential property, new or retrofitted buildings that are designed, constructed, and certified to exceed the standards set forth in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers 2004 standard (ASHRAE 90.1.2004) by 30 percent.

Provide short‐term relief to American families facing pain at the pump • Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future. • Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined Put 1 million Plug‐In Hybrid cars –cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon –on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025 Implement an economy‐wide cap‐and‐trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050
 * United States**

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