Should the U.S. Offer Tax Credits to Promote Renewable Energy?
The new administration is making a big push to support green energy and lower carbon emissions. President Bidens $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan would supercharge an already booming clean-power sector. Among other things, his plan proposes a 10-year extension of wind and solar tax credits, and new tax credits for batteries and transmission. The plan needs to be approved by Congress and is expected to be the focus of intense negotiations among Republicans and Democrats in coming months, with many details likely to change. But the wisdom of using credits or subsidies at all is hotly debated by some environmental advocates. Fans of credits say that these financial tools have had a powerful impact in the past and need to be extendedor made permanent. Opponents say that the benefits of credits are overstated and that alternative inducements, such as a carbon tax, are a better way to go green.