Green Options

Depending on how you look at it, Obama’s meeting with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva this past weekend could be interpreted as either a first step toward cooperating on biofuel trade or a missed opportunity to protect the Amazon rain forest.

In case you missed the news, the $700B bailout included tax credits for renewable energy industries. So what are the greenest bits of the bill and what does it mean for renewable energy companies? Also, where is all that glorious cash coming from?

Renewable Energy Tax Credits:

• Solar energy gets an 8-year extension on existing 30% tax credits for residential and commercial solar installations.

• Solar installations for residents and utilities are no longer confined to the US$2,000 monetary cap.

Following a meeting earlier this week with House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, the ‘big three’ US automakers are optimistic about their prospects of receiving a multi-billion dollar loan.