Solar Credit Fails Cloture Vote Again

What is it about our need to develop alternative sources of energy given sky high oil prices, global warming and political instability in oil producing regions that our elected officals don't understand?  This was the question that would seem to flow naturally out of today's failure again of the Senate to obtain cloture to extend the solar tax credit.

It's not as though the solar investment tax credit is a novel or unproven idea that requires additional study.  The ITC is largely responsible for the rebirth of America's solar industry in recent years--as other flavors of credits are responsible for the growth of solar energy in other countries.  In order to bring down the cost of solar, scale is needed and to drive scale, incentives are the obvious solution. 

Congress probably wil renew the ITC eventually this year.  The problem is that delays create uncertainty and the long lead times of solar projects mean that many have already been canceled causing solar installers to lose business and lay off workers. It is time for the Senate and House to put differences over the paygo system aside and agree on legislation that both can pass.