US Senators Introduce Renewable Heating Tax Credit

“We need to break our dependence on imported fossil fuels, and biomass, used effectively and sustainably, can help do that,” said Sen. Shaheen, the original sponsor of the bill. “The American Renewable Biomass Heating Act will help put highly efficient biomass on a level playing field with other renewable resources and create the incentives businesses need to invest in clean energy. There is noreason why the United States cannot and should not be a leader in clean energy technologies, including biomass.”

To qualify for the credit, biomass boilers and furnaces would be required to operate at greater than 75% efficiency and provide thermal energy for space heating, air conditioning, domestic hot water, or industrial process heat. Large scale biomass thermal systems have been widely deployed in Europe, where government incentives have played a vital role in helping reduce fossil energy and create new clean energy jobs.

“This bipartisan bill will help create a market for commercial scale biomass thermal systems,” said Charlie Niebling, chairman of the Washington D.C.-based Biomass Thermal Energy Council. “It supports biomass thermal with the same incentive that already exists for every other renewable energy technology, including solar thermal and electric, wind, and geothermal. Businesses are some of our nation’s biggest consumers of thermal energy, and S. 3188 will provide a powerful incentive to switch to biomass fuels that we produce here in America.”