Energy Storage Tax Relief Bill Introduced

U.S. Rep. Mike Honda, a Democrat from Silicon Valley, California, has introduced the Energy Storage for Grid Resilience and Modernization Act, otherwise known as H.R. 5350.

If the bill becomes law, it will provide a tax credit for home and business owners who purchase energy storage systems. The tax credit for both would be 30%, which is the same amount as the renewable energy tax credit. Factories would also be eligible under the proposed law.

“We must create better infrastructure in our nation, including our electrical grid. Tax credits will help create a market-based solution to increase the use of both energy storage and renewable energy. This legislation will help America become energy independent and help create good, family-wage jobs in a sustainable industry. I’m proud to sponsor it, along with my colleagues,” explained Honda.

Two Republican Representatives from New York, Tom Reed and Christopher Gibson, are co-sponsors, so there is some bipartisan support. Democratic Representative Mark Takano from California, is also a co-sponsor. At the end of May, the bill was sent to the House Committee on Ways and Means.

“We care about creating sustainable, reliable and affordable energy for families and businesses across our nation. This bipartisan bill provides a commonsense approach to meeting our evolving energy demands. It is only right that we work across the aisle to overcome our energy challenges and we believe this legislation is part of that solution. We appreciate Congressman Honda’s leadership on this issue and are glad to join him in this effort,” said Representative Reed.

Energy storage is a critical piece of the clean, renewable energy puzzle, so government support only seems reasonable. In fact, one might say that an energy storage tax credit is overdue. It would not only encourage the purchasing of more energy storage systems, but it might also increase demand. If demand were increased, energy storage companies would have the opportunity to engage in more sales, which would obviously be good for them.

Making the bill retroactive would also support people who have already purchased energy storage systems. For example, making the tax credit apply to people who acquired the technology one year before the bill was passed would help them pay for those systems.

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