A 100-day plan in a Biden administration proposed by the Solar Energy Industries Association has the support of the Oklahoma Solar Association but a spokeswoman says the state group won’t become actively involved in campaigning for it.
Lindsey Pever, vice president of the Oklahoma Solar group responded to questions posed by OK Energy Today, indicating her group would support one the national organizations goals—a tax framework that drives solar deployment and takes into account project delays due to COVID-19.
“We have no plans at this time to campaign for policies at the federal level,” said Pever.
The national group wants an investment tax credit for energy storage, one capable of reaching and surpassing its goal of 20% of electricity generation from solar energy by 2030.
“OSA supports meaningful policies that support energy storage development, installed with or without solar,” she added.
As to a call by Solar Energy Industries Association for what it called a meaningful federal carbon policy mechanism, Pever said the Oklahoma Association has not made any decisions on the concept.
Federal funding for solar energy research and development?
“Yes, federal funding for R&D tends to be an effective mechanism for all sorts of new technologies,” said Pever. She added her organization also supports the SEIA’s call for clean energy development on public lands.
The national group’s 100 day plan also called for executive orders to increase renewable energy deployment on public lands. It also urged Biden to select a Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the Interior who is committed to responsible development of renewable resources on public and private lands.
An Investment Tax Credit for energy storage To reach and surpass our goal of 20% of electricity generation from solar energy by 2030, The U.S will need to add energy storage to increase the availability of solar as a variable resource. The Investment Tax Credit as currently enacted makes energy storage installations eligible if it is installed at the same time as a solar energy system. With more than 2 million solar installations already installed in the United States, however, retrofits and increased deployment in general are needed. SEIA supports standalone energy storage systems qualifying for the ITC, through policies like HR 2360/S 1142, the Energy Storage Tax Incentive and Deployment Act (Doyle, Heinrich, Gardner) November 2020 http://www.seia.org