SALEM, Ore. (AP) — The Oregon House has voted to scale back the Business Energy Tax Credit program that has been used to expand renewable energy in Oregon.
The House voted 57-2 on Wednesday to approve the measure and send it to the Senate. The measure eliminates the energy tax credits and replaces them with a new, significantly smaller program.
The new structure was devised by lawmakers trying to get a handle on the projected exponential growth in the cost of energy tax credits to a state starving for revenue. It shrinks the program to lower the cost and focus on supporting smaller, community-based renewable energy projects instead of massive industrial-scale facilities.