Patty Murray: “The tax provisions in this bill provide important tax credits to encourage the use of energy-efficient fuel cells that…”

“The tax provisions in this bill provide important tax credits to encourage the use of energy-efficient fuel cells that are 1 kilowatt or greater. I note that the tax credit applies only to fuel cells of 1 kilowatt or greater because there are a number of important fuel cell applications that are less than 1 kilowatt. It is important that we support the development of fuel cells that are less than 1 kilowatt. This amendment would expand the tax credit to include fuel cells that are greater than a half a kilowatt, but would keep the per kilowatt amount of the tax credit the same. Fuel cells that are between a half and 1 kilowatt are used as emission-free power supplies for a number of noteworthy applications, including cellular phone tower repeaters, home dialysis machines, railroad signaling and switching equipment, and recreational vehicle and camping powering equipment. Fuel cells are an emerging technology that hold the promise of helping to dramatically reduce world pollution. This promising technology could eventually shift our dependence from fuels like gasoline and diesel fuel to hydrogen. This important tax credit is intended to provide an incentive for research, develop, design, and use fuel cell technologies.”