GE Pushes for Tax Credits on Green Tech

Tax credits for companies developing renewable energy technologies and projects have been a major factor in the success of these programs. But unless the U.S. government extends those credits this year, many of these projects – and the green sector jobs they create – will fall by the wayside. This week, General Electric Co’s Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said that the U.S. government and private sector needs to continue its support of renewable energy sources such as solar panels and wind farms, or get left behind in the international effort to reduce greenhouse gases.

"For some reason we decide that energy is the one industry in the world where the only policy should be the price of a barrel of oil," Immelt said, adding that GE could always sell its products overseas if they aren't purchased here. "If the U.S. isn't buying my wind turbines, there is going to be 8,000 megawatts (MW) installed in Turkey," he said. "I'll go there."

In late February, the House approved a bill to extend more than $17 billion in tax credits and other incentives to encourage the production of energy from solar, wind and other renewable sources. Of course, President Bush threatened to veto the bill, saying it would be a mistake to increase the tax burden on American oil companies.

GE’s ecomagination business sells a range of green products including solar-powered lighting, a hybrid locomotive, wind turbines and water purification systems, and will invest $6 billion by 2010 in new projects. The ecomagination business will account for $20 billion in annual revenue by 2009, according to GE.

GE recently announced that scientists on its Nano Photovoltaics team have demonstrated a scalable silicon nanowirebased solar cell, which has the potential to achieve up to 18 percent efficiency and be produced at a dramatically lower cost than conventional solar cells. The company also recently invested $300 million in a 600-megawatt portfolio of wind farms in Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois and Texas. Immelt also said the United States needed to pursue the development of new nuclear power plants and invest more in the development of "clean coal" technology.

Even as the U.S. government is dragging its feet on tax credits for renewable energy, it’s encouraging to see major consumer electronics companies like GE stepping up to the plate, and increasing investments in green technologies. In February, Royal Philips Electronics also announced that it boosted the sales of its green products by 33 percent in 2007, and green products accounted for 20 percent of the company's sales last year, compared to 15 percent in 2006.