Congressman Panetta Proposes Bill to Boost Independent Microgrids
After the disruptive power outages associated with the 2020 Fire Season, Santa Cruz residents are ready for improvements in regional energy management.
On April 13th, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) introduced Making Imperiled Communities Resistant to Outages with Generation that is Resilient, Islandable, and Distributed (MICROGRID) Act. Congressman Panetta believes that Microgrids would provide a valuable supplement to the larger energy grid.
Santa Cruz has a multitude of energy contractors with microgrid expertise many of which will be presenting at Greentech 2021.
Key Points of the Bill:
legislation incentivizes the expansion and deployment of microgrids, which provide backup power, independent from the larger energy grid, during emergencies.
creates a 30% tax credit for a qualifying microgrid property through 2025, phasing down to 10 percent by 2028 and sunsetting in 2029 to incentivize the expansion and deployment of microgrids at the local level.
credit can be taken by governments and nonprofits as a direct payment, helping our communities take advantage of the credit
Recent local Energy and Microgrid projects of note include:
Today, Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) introduced the Making Imperiled Communities Resistant to Outages with Generation that is Resilient, Islandable, and Distributed (MICROGRID) Act. The legislation incentivizes the expansion and deployment of microgrids, which provide backup power, independent from the larger energy grid, during emergencies. As extreme weather events, such as wildfires, become increasingly common, microgrids can mitigate the impacts of grid outages and public safety power shutoffs on communities using cleaner energy sources.
The bill creates a 30% tax credit for a qualifying microgrid property through 2025, phasing down to 10 percent by 2028 and sunsetting in 2029 to incentivize the expansion and deployment of microgrids at the local level. The credit can be taken by governments and nonprofits as a direct payment, helping our communities take advantage of the credit.
“Many California communities, including those on the Central Coast, are frequently experiencing power failures and shutoffs due to wildfires, public safety power shutdowns, and other emergencies driven by extreme weather events,” said Congressman Panetta. “My MICROGRID Act would provide accessible tax credits for local governments to build and deploy microgrids, offering a cleaner energy alternative to fossil fuel generators that are independent from our energy grid. Expanding and deploying microgrids can harness clean energy sources, keep our homes and critical infrastructure connected when the larger grid fails, and lead to reliable and consistent electricity for our homes and safety for our communities.”
“As the Santa Cruz City Council looks to update our Climate Action Plan for 2030, energy resiliency for the Santa Cruz region is certain to be one of the goals of our vision. We applaud Congressman Panetta for his efforts to aggressively address climate change and support the goals of incentivizing microgrid investment as an important piece of the area’s overall resilience strategy. As the home to microgrid pioneers such as Sandbar Solar, our City strongly supports this proposed change to the federal tax code to provide critical assistance to local governments in protecting our most vulnerable communities,” said Santa Cruz Mayor Donna Meyers.
“The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP), a regional member-supported nonprofit consisting of over 80 public, private and civic entities located throughout Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz counties, supports Congressman Panetta's Making Imperiled Communities Resistant to Outages with Generation that is Resilient, Islandable, and Distributed (MICROGRID) Act, which would provide a 30 percent tax credit for qualified microgrid property. Congress should incentivize the buildout and deployment of microgrids which can provide backup power, islanded from the grid, during emergencies; thus, increasing community resilience. Microgrids would allow utilities to target blackouts much more precisely and would reduce the economic impact of blackouts and help the grid function more smoothly even when there are no emergencies,” said Kate Roberts, President & CEO of MBEP.