SB 168 Extends Tax Credit on Biomass

See TTV POST HERE

This bill extends sunset from 2022 to January 1, 2024 for tax credit for biomass production or collection of all types of biomass reducing long term revenues without the benefit of reporting on its success.

Fiscal Responsibility
There doesn't appear to be a current report on energy potential from biomass. The 2012 report indicated that rural areas in the state would benefit the least with the valley having the highest potential maybe because of waste treatment plants. The law allows 5 years to update the report for what is working with the tax credits.

Limited Government
Effective since January 1, 2007, and extended to January 1, 2022 by SB 1507 in 2016 lumped in with tax credits for filmmakers and media production, it also reduced credits for animal manure or rendering offal and added requirements for transferring certificates. Dept. of Energy testified that the credit has no real energy saving goals and costs the agency time to try and track the moving of biomass rather than the energy component. Farm Bureau opposed because there are no air quality standards to be a basis for the tax credit. Ethanol credits makes no sense, costs more to produce than an equal amount of gasoline, produces less energy than gasoline, ruins engines, and causes a food product to be forced out of food production and into energy, thereby causing corn to be more expensive, which hurts farmers and poor people worldwide, yet it is mandated.

Local Control
Doesn't appear to help rural Oregon's production of energy.