The tax credit extension for renewable energy including wind and solar installations will increase deployment while also cutting GHG emissions from the U.S. power sector, says a new study. The five-year extension enacted in December 2015 is expected to increase renewable capacity by 48-53 GW over its lifetime, as well as eliminating 540-1,400 million metric tons of CO2 emissions over 15 years.
The Impacts of Federal Tax Credit Extensions to Renewable Deployment and Power Sector Emissions report from NREL projects results based on two predicted outcomes for natural gas prices, measured due to their close relationship to new renewable development. The report notes that the tax credit extension will show significant benefits under either scenario, with almost all of the growth coming from solar and wind.
