Subject: Unlevel Playing Field For Renewable Enegy

In our Renewable Energy Newgroups, we often discuss the economic
problems of commercializing  Wind, Biomass, Solar, and Geothermal
Projects into the Market-place – which can compete with fossil fuel
technologies like natural gas.  Often we focus on things like
Environmental Externalties, Carbon Taxes, Federal Budget Cuts on R&D
Research, and military spending to protect our oil interests.

To a large part, the major obstacle is the high capital cost of
Renewable Energy Technology.  In this light, would you be interested in
a way to cut production costs on a biomass project by 22%, requiring no
technology enhancements?

The answer is in our Tax Laws which unfairly penalize Renewable Energy,
and favor fossil fuels like Natural Gas.  In two recent Studies by the
California Energy Commission, and the Forest Products’ Industry – it was
shown that a Renewable Energy Project can carry a tax burden up to 220%
higher than its Natural Gas counterpart (matched for MW size, hours of
operations, etc.).

It was also shown that even if a Natural Gas and Renewable Project had
EXACTLY THE SAME PRE-TAX PRODUCTION COSTS -- that the Renewable Project
would still need additional revenues approaching 1 cent per kwh to
achieve the same financial returns as the natural gas project --
resulting from unequal tax treatment.

To learn more the need for TAX NEUTRALITY for Renewable Energy Versus
Fossil Fuel Technology, visit  
http://www.pic.net/~stevie2 
 and click
on  THE UNLEVEL PLAYING FIELD.  
Also, if you are planning to attend Bioenergy 96 in Nashville, be sure
to attend Greg Sanderson’s (of the Law Firm Gomel & Davis) presentation,
where he will discuss this issue.