WASHINGTON D.C. - U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) today introduced legislation to renew a job-creating clean energy tax cut that has delivered nearly $125 million to seven Ohio manufacturers to help create clean energy jobs. The Security in Energy and Manufacturing (SEAM) Act, would renew the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit program, also known as 48C, which provides investment tax credits of 30 percent for facilities that manufacture energy equipment. Currently, 70 percent of clean energy components are manufactured outside of the United States.

“From the GE lamp plant in Bucyrus to AcuTemp in Dayton, I’ve seen first-hand how the 48C program has helped add jobs for clean energy manufacturing in Ohio,” Brown said. “Clean energy is a high-growth, 21st-century industry in which American manufacturers can and should play a central role. We should renew the 48C program, so that other clean energy manufacturers in my state and across America can take advantage and add jobs at the same time.”

To be eligible for the tax credit, manufacturers must produce solar, wind, and geothermal energy equipment; fuel cells, microturbines, and batteries; electric cars; electric grids; energy conservation technologies; and equipment that captures and sequesters carbon dioxide or reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The SEAM Act is also cosponsored by Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Bob Casey (D-PA).

The initial tax credit, which was originally included in the Recovery Act, supported seven Ohio projects totaling nearly $125 million in tax credits; dozens more eligible projects applied for funding and were denied due to a lack of funds. The Department of Energy (DOE) states that the program was more than three times oversubscribed. Nationwide, DOE deemed 418 projects eligible, which amounts to $5.8 billion in unfunded eligible applications. These manufacturers are waiting in the pipeline, and would be ready to break ground soon after they receive funding.

Brown is the leading congressional champion of the 48C tax credit. Components of his bill are included in the Senate Majority Leader’s Innovation plan. The 48C program provides a 30 percent credit for domestic companies that invest in new, expanded, or reequipped clean energy manufacturing projects. The program is aimed at building capacity to meet this new and growing source of demand. Qualifying facilities manufacture a wide range of clean energy products, including wind turbines, solar panels, hybrid vehicle systems, carbon capture and sequestration systems, and biofuel refinery components, among others.

Brown has repeatedly called for the expansion of the 48C program. Last April, Brown led a letter with 10 U.S. Senators calling for climate legislation to provide assistance for manufacturers by expanding the 48C program. The same month, Brown joined Ron Bloom, Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy, to hold a roundtable with central Ohio manufacturers at Edison Welding Institute in Columbus. Sen. Brown also met with southeastern Ohio manufacturers at Thermo Fisher plant in Marietta.

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