FACTBOX - Details of Bush energy legislation proposal
Date: 29-Jun-01
Country: USA
The proposal will be considered by the House and Senate, which have been drafting their own bills to increase energy supplies while encouraging conservation.
The following are highlights of the White House proposal:
OIL/GAS
* Authorize drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge of Alaska, requiring oil companies to use state of the art technology to avoid damaging the environment.
* Earmark estimated $1.2 billion collected by federal government for multi-year drilling rights in the refuge to fund research into alternative energy sources.
* Modify Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Act of 1976 to expedite construction of a pipeline to ship natural gas from Alaska to the lower 48 states.
* Extend excise tax exemption for ethanol fuel.
* Create Royalties Conservation Fund to earmark royalties from new oil and gas production in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to fund land conservation efforts.
ELECTRICITY
* Change tax law to allow non-utilities to make deductible contributions to a nuclear power plant decommissioning fund.
* Reauthorize Price-Anderson Act, which protects utilities from legal liability in a nuclear plant accident.
* Give Federal Energy Regulatory Commission eminent domain authority to seize private property to build electricity transmission lines.
* Expand tax credits for electricity produced using wind power, biomass and other renewable energy.
* Establish mandatory reduction targets for power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury over a "reasonable" period of time, and establish a market-based program to encourage reductions.
CONSUMERS
* Offer income tax credits for consumers who buy hybrid and fuel cell vehicles.
* Offer 15 percent tax credit for consumers who buy photovoltaic equipment or solar water heating equipment for their homes.
MISC
* Offer tax credit for investments in combined heat and power systems, or shortening the depreciation life for projects.
* Offer tax credit for energy produced from landfill gas.
* Reform hydropower licensing process to make process faster.