On April 3, 2014, the Senate Committee on Finance marked up its version of a tax extenders package, the "Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency (EXPIRE) Act." The EXPIRE Act includes extensions through December 31, 2015 (and retroactive to January 1, 2014) of the following key biofuels incentives that have expired: the Alternative Fuel Refueling Property Credit; the Second Generation Biofuel Producer Tax Credit; the Special Depreciation Allowance for Second Generation Biofuel Plant Property; the Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Fuels Credit; and the Alternative Fuel and Alternative Fuel Mixture Excise Tax Credit. A copy of the EXPIRE Act is available online. A summary of the bill is available online.

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On March 24, 2014, seven leading biofuel trade associations sent a letter to Senate Committee on Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-UT) -- as the Committee works to develop a tax extenders bill -- urging the retroactive extension of the following biofuel incentives, which expired on December 31, 2013: the Second Generation Biofuel Producer Tax Credit, the Special Depreciation Allowance for Second Generation Biofuel Plant Property, the Biodiesel and Renewable Diesel Fuels Credit, and the Alternative Fuel and Alternative Fuel Mixture Excise Tax Credit. A copy of the letter is available online.

The letter stresses that the advanced biofuels industry is at a critical stage of development and is a critical innovation sector that depends on the incentives and their stability for continued development. It also points out that the continued availability of the tax credits is needed to continue to attract development of advanced biofuels and their associated jobs in the U.S.
 

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On February 13, 2014, Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced S. 2021, a bill to extend and reform the $1 per-gallon biodiesel tax credit that expired on December 31, 2013. The bill would extend this credit for three years through 2017. It would provide a $1 per-gallon tax credit for the production of biodiesel, renewable diesel, and aviation jet fuel that complies with fuel standards and the Clean Air Act. The bill would modify the definition of biodiesel to encourage production from any biomass-based feedstock, or recycled oils and fats. It would increase the credit to $1.10 per-gallon for the first 15 million gallons of biodiesel produced by small producers with an annual production capacity of less than 60 million gallons. In addition, the bill would restrict the credit to fuel producers to ensure the credit goes to domestic biodiesel production and to prevent eligibility of fuel blenders that could potentially add a very small amount of biodiesel to petroleum diesel (a practice known as "splash and dash") to qualify.

This bill would likely be added to a larger tax extender package that new Senate Committee on Finance Chair Ron Wyden (D-OR) has said he is interested in moving through the Committee in the near future. It would be significant for the biodiesel industry, which produced .7 billion gallons more in 2013 when the biodiesel tax credit was available than in 2012 when Congress let the credit expire.
 

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On November 12, 2013, 17 "green groups," including Greenpeace, the Sierra Club, and the League of Conservation Voters, sent a letter to the leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance urging the extension of several tax incentives designed to promote investment in the development of clean energy. For instance, the letter urges the extension of the 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit, which provides an investment tax credit of up to 30 percent of qualified investment in a qualifying advanced energy project, which is defined to be a project that establishes, expands, or re-equips a manufacturing facility for the production of certain types of property, including property designed to refine or blend renewable fuels or to produce energy conservation technologies.

Several tax incentives designed to help encourage renewable energy production are set to expire at the end of the year.
 

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On September 12, 2013, Representative Bill Pascrell (D-NJ) introduced H.R. 3084, the "Qualifying Renewable Chemical Production Tax Credit Act," to provide tax parity for the renewable chemical industry in the United States. Along with Representative Pascrell, the original co-sponsors of the bi-partisan bill are Representatives Steve Stockman (R-TX), Allyson Schwartz (D-PA), Linda Sanchez (D-CA), and Richard Neal (D-MA).

Essentially, the bill would extend the current production tax credit (PTC) for cellulosic biofuels to producers of renewable chemicals. It would provide a PTC of 15 cents per pound of eligible renewable content, but it caps the benefit at $500 million and a single producer may not receive more than $25 million in a tax year. A copy of the legislation is available online. Representative Pascrell has stated publicly that he hopes the legislation will help incentivize the U.S. production of renewable chemicals and help develop the industry here in the United States.
 

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