WASHINGTON, D.C. – Earlier today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Representatives Ted Poe (R-TX-02) and Mike Thompson (D-CA-05) re-introduced bipartisan legislation to level the energy playing field by giving investors in a range of clean energy projects access to a decades-old corporate structure whose tax advantage is currently available only to investors in fossil fuel-based energy projects. The Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act is a straightforward, powerful modification of the federal tax code that could unleash significant private capital by helping an emerging class of energy-generation and renewable fuel companies to form master limited partnerships, which combine the investment advantages of corporations and the tax advantages of partnerships.
The bill has already received an abundance of support from organizations around the country:
"The National Association of State Energy Officials supports a balanced national energy policy. The MLP Parity Act, if enacted, would be a critical element of such policy balance. We strongly encourage its adoption."
David Terry, Executive Director, National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO)
“Clean energy development presents an enormous climate and economic opportunity that the United States cannot afford to miss out on. However, the difficulty of securing financing for large, capital intensive projects like commercial-scale solar or carbon capture technologies can be a major barrier to progress. The Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act would remedy this by making a number of clean energy technologies eligible for a tax treatment that has successfully driven investment in oil and gas projects for decades. This bill would help get more clean energy projects up and running, create good-paying jobs, and increase production of low-carbon electricity and fuels across the country.”
Josh Freed, Vice President for Clean Energy, Third Way
“Expanding access to MLP financing will do much to address U.S. economic, environmental and security imperatives by lowering the cost and accelerating the deployment of a range of clean energy technologies. The bill comes at an opportune moment as renewable energy tax credits begin to phase down. MLP-supported investment could provide a long-term source of cost-effective finance to renewables, just as it has for U.S. oil and gas pipelines for decades. The MLP Parity Act would also provide important financial support to carbon capture, utilization, and storage as that technology proves itself from an engineering perspective but still has challenges economically. Finally, MLPs could help advance various types of electricity storage technologies critical to large-scale deployment of a number of clean energy sources.”
Dan Reicher, Executive Director, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University
“The Utility Workers Union of America applauds this bipartisan effort to place carbon capture infrastructure on an equal footing with other clean energy technologies, further enabling the buildout of projects that will ensure traditional energy production can and will remain an economic foundation for middle class families and their communities across the country.”
Mike Langford, National President, Utility Workers of America
“Publicly-traded MLPs provide efficient access to low-cost capital for fossil fuel infrastructure, but renewable energy has long been ineligible despite being a strong fit for this proven financing tool. Expanding MLP eligibility to clean energy resources not only levels the playing field with fossil fuels, but also helps meet increasing demand for low-carbon infrastructure and electricity generation. The MLP Parity Act will help investors capitalize on this growing sector, creating jobs and new projects which generate revenue and economic growth while helping the US transition to a clean energy economy.”
Dr. Rachel Cleetus, Lead Economist, Union of Concerned Scientists
“We commend Senator Coons for his leadership once again in introducing this important legislation to level the playing field and promote greater private investment in our nation’s renewable energy resources. Enabling master limited partnership investment in renewable energy can help lower project costs, leading to more economic investment in grid modernization and energy infrastructure.”
Greg Wetstone, President and CEO, American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE)
“Amazon is committed to renewable energy. In 2016, we were the largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy in the U.S. and we have announced or begun construction on wind and solar projects that will generate 3.6 million megawatt hours annually. As Amazon continues to pursue renewable energy projects, we support expanding the use of Master Limited Partnerships to clean energy resources and applaud Senators Coons and Moran and Congressmen Poe and Thompson for their leadership on this important legislation.”
Shannon Kellogg, Director of AWS Public Policy, Amazon and ACORE Board Member
“The Master Limited Partnership Parity Act will help U.S. renewable chemical and advanced biofuel companies compete for investment dollars. The global market for biobased products is projected to double by 2024. This legislation can help U.S. producers capture their fair share of that economic growth, revitalize the domestic manufacturing sector, and create new jobs and economic opportunities. We are especially pleased that the legislation captures the rapid growth and new classes of renewable chemicals that U.S. companies are developing, including those that reuse captured carbon.”
Brent Erickson, Executive Vice President of BIO’s Industrial & Environmental Section
“The members of the Algae Biomass Organization thank Senators Coons and Moran, and Representatives Poe and Thompson for their leadership in re-introducing the MLP Parity Act. The updates and modifications to the bill provide an even greater impetus for investment in renewable energy, carbon capture and use, and other vital clean technologies that will help create jobs and enhance our energy and environmental security. Algae-based clean technologies look forward to competing on the level playing field this bill will help ensure."
Matt Carr, Executive Director, Algae Biomass Organization
“Including renewable energy like biofuels in an expanded master limited partnership (MLP) tax structure will drive further investment into an industry that is supplying our nation with cleaner, more affordable fuel. This bill will level the playing field with conventional energy sources like petroleum that can currently access and utilize this type of tax structure.”
Emily Skor, CEO, Growth Energy
“We applaud Senators Coons (D-DE) and Moran (R-KS) for their bipartisan leadership in introducing the Master Limited Partnership Parity Act. For the past century, conventional fuels have been able to access low-cost financing to support infrastructure development. This bill levels the playing field for renewables and clean-energy technologies, encouraging investment into the energy infrastructure of tomorrow. The Alliance for Industrial Efficiency is particularly pleased that the bill extends low-cost financing to Combined Heat and Power (CHP) and Waste Heat to Power (WHP), proven clean-energy sources that could provide as much as 20 percent of U.S. electric capacity. Despite this tremendous potential, these technologies currently represent only 8 percent of U.S. electricity. The MLP Parity Act will lower the cost of financing such projects, sending a strong signal about the value of such investments. By lowering financial hurdles to CHP and WHP, this bill helps put these technologies on an equal footing with conventional fuels. The sponsors of this bill are right to recognize that U.S. investments in renewable and clean-energy technology can save substantial amounts of energy and money, make American manufacturing more competitive globally, and help create jobs in our country.”
Jennifer Kefer, Executive Director of the Alliance for Industrial Efficiency, a diverse coalition that includes representatives from the business, environmental, labor and contractor communities. The Alliance is committed to enhancing manufacturing competitiveness and saving energy and money through industrial energy efficiency, particularly in the form of clean and efficient CHP and WHP.
“We own and operate one of the largest waste heat to power projects in the U.S. for the benefit of a large steel producer in the Midwest. The economic and environmental benefits of this project are undeniable and have helped position our customer as a low cost producer and manufacturer of steel in the U.S. while helping them produce their product with a smaller environmental impact. The MLP Parity Act would lower the cost of capital for waste heat to power projects like ours, making these projects easier to finance and more attractive to a broader range of customers, while supporting jobs and the local economy.”
Mo Klefeker, President and CEO, Primary Energy Recycling Corporation and Member of the Heat is Power Association
“Stimulating investment and creating jobs is what Congress should be focused on with tax reform, and that’s exactly what this bipartisan bill would do. By fixing a disparity in the tax code that hampers investment in clean energy, the bill will encourage energy efficiency projects across the country, bolstering American productivity and competitiveness by creating jobs, saving businesses and consumers money and reducing pollution.”
Kateri Callahan, President, Alliance to Save Energy
“The ESA is thankful for the leadership of Senators Coons and Moran, and Representatives Poe and Thompson, in expanding the Master Limited Partnership Parity Act to include energy storage technologies. This inclusion will increase the availability of capital to finance the innovative energy infrastructure that can be provided by energy storage.”
Kelly Speakes-Backman, CEO, Energy Storage Association
“Today, solar is a bright spot in our nation’s economy, employing 260,000 workers at 9,000 U.S. companies. The MLP proposal would help to build on this tremendous success. SEIA thanks Senators Coons and Moran and Representatives Poe and Thompson for putting forward an idea that has the potential to attract private sector investment for critically-important solar projects.”
Abigail Ross Hopper, President and CEO, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA)
“We commend Senator Coons, Senator Moran and the other co-sponsors of the Master Limited Partnerships (MLP) Parity Act for their leadership in promoting MLP eligibility for renewable energy projects. MLPs have been effective for other forms of energy infrastructure and have the potential to also be utilized to encourage new investment in the U.S. wind energy market. We appreciate their work that would provide more Americans with the opportunity to invest in renewable energy, as they are able to do with other energy sources.”
Tom Kiernan, CEO, American Wind Energy Association
“We applaud the sponsors of the MLP Parity Act for recognizing the importance of carbon capture and storage and the beneficial utilization of CO2. This legislation will ensure the availability of MLPs as a financing tool to encourage private capital investment in carbon capture projects that foster American energy production and create highly-skilled, good-paying jobs, all while reducing carbon emissions.”
Brad Crabtree and Bob Perciasepe, Co-Directors, National Enhanced Oil Recovery Initiative (NEORI) – NEORI is a partnership of energy, industrial and technology companies, labor unions and environmental and energy policy organizations seeking federal incentives to accelerate commercial deployment of carbon capture technology on power plants and industrial facilities.
“The MLP Parity Act will provide an important financial pathway for commercializing cleaner advanced technologies. Carbon capture, for example, is a critical-path technology for decarbonizating our energy production. Allowing these projects access to MLPs will help accelerate its deployment and cost reduction, and ultimately its wide-scale commercial use.”
Kurt Waltzer, Managing Director, Clean Air Task Force
“The Center for Carbon Removal commends Senators Coons and Moran and Representatives Poe and Thompson for introducing their MLP bill, which will support the commercialization of clean energy technologies including carbon capture, use, and storage here in the US. This bill recognizes that captured carbon dioxide can be utilized economically in many different applications – such as concrete, plastics, graphite, carbon fiber, fuels and chemicals – and it creates financial incentives that can help drive innovation in these technologies in a way that protects industrial jobs, tackles climate change today, and paves the way for carbon dioxide removal solutions in the future.”
Noah Deich, Executive Director, Center for Carbon Removal
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