Bingaman sees multiple avenues for clean energy credits

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) on Thursday appeared to downplay the chances of expanding popular energy manufacturing credits in the upcoming Senate jobs bill, but sees multiple chances to address the issue.

“I think the Majority Leader may want to have something that is more limited for our first jobs bill,” Bingaman told reporters in the Capitol after Democrats met to discuss jobs legislation.

The 2009 stimulus law created a new credit for domestic manufacturing of "clean energy" equipment such as wind turbines and solar panels, but applications have already far outstripped the law’s $2.3 billion cap.

Bingaman and several other senators want an additional $2.5 billion worth of credits, and the White House has called for adding another $5 billion to the program. But the expansion was not included in the draft jobs package that Finance Committee leaders circulated Thursday morning.

“I am working to get it included in a package,” Bingaman said.

“We are going to have several different jobs bills that the Majority Leader intends to bring to the floor and we are going to try and get it included in one of those,” he added. “We are also going to try and get it done as part of an energy bill if it hasn’t been done by then.”

The shape of the Senate jobs package remains in flux.

“There are a lot of ideas, there are a ton of ideas, so it's a question of sequencing, which ideas . . .  which provisions have the greatest job creation, which can get passed,” Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said after the Democratic meeting.