See the reference below concerning the President Obama’s legislative impact on hydropower. http://www.hydro.org/news/pressreleases.php
According to the "Energy Provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [ARRA] of 2009", federal funding initiatives are available for hydropower, including the following tax credits.[1]
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 emphasizes jobs, economic recovery, and assistance to those most impacted by the recession, and stresses investments in technology, transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure and proposes strategies to stabilize state and local government budgets.
Energy provisions are a featured part of ARRA, with more than $42 billion is provided in appropriations for energy programs, mainly for energy efficiency and renewable energy. While most funding must be obligated by the end of FY2010, ARRA provides more than $21 billion in energy tax incentives, primarily for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
Per the enacted law for qualifying resource facilities, including incremental hydropower, small irrigation, marine/hydrokinetic and more, the PTC would be extended through the end of 2013.[2]
For nonprofit entities, $1.6 billion of new clean renewable energy bonds would be authorized to finance facilities that generate electricity from wind, closed-loop biomass, openloop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, marine renewable, and municipal waste (trash) combustion facilities. Of the $1.6 billion authorization for such projects, one-third would be available to state/local/tribal governments, one-third to public power providers, and one-third to electric cooperatives.[3]
EPAct2005 established tax credits for the installation of retail and residential alternative fuel refueling systems, and eligible fuels include ethanol, natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas, and hydrogen. The retail credit is valued at 30% of the system, up to $30,000, and for residential systems, the credit is capped at $1,000.
For 2009 and 2010, ARRA increases the tax credit to 50% for all fuels except hydrogen, and raises the limitations to $50,000 for retail systems and $2,000 for residential systems. For hydrogen fuel, the 30% credit is maintained, but the credit limit is raised to $200,000.[4]
FERC is responsible for licensing of nonfederal hydroelectric projects. Specific to hydropower industry, FERC’s responsibilities include: Issuance of licenses for the construction of a new project; Issuance of licenses for the continuance of an existing project (relicensing); and Oversight of all ongoing project operations, including dam safety inspections and environmental monitoring. FERC regulates over 1,700 non-federal dams in the US.[5]
The DOE is expected to invest up to $12 million to support development of advanced water power technologies. According to April 2009 news, the DOE announced the issuance of a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for up to $12 million, to support the research and development of advanced water power technologies, including both marine and hydrokinetic and conventional hydropower technologies. The DOE committed $7.3 million to advanced water power technologies in 2008.[6] The three key research areas of interest include:
The DOE will also fund a separate Program Announcement for advanced water power projects from research partnerships led by DOE national laboratories, according to April 2009 news. Industry and academic organizations are eligible to participate as members of these teams, developing advancements to the following four topic areas under this Program Announcement:
Research by Theresa Pipher
