GREEN Act of 2020

Growing Renewable Energy and Efficiency Now Act of 2020 or the GREEN Act of 2020

This bill provides tax incentives for investment in renewable energy resources and energy efficiency programs.

Among other provisions, the bill

• extends for five years the tax credit for production of electricity from certain renewable resources (e.g., wind facilities, biomass, landfill trash facilities), the election to treat certain tangible property as energy property for purposes of the energy tax credit, and certain provisions of the energy tax credit;
• expands the energy tax credit to include energy storage technology, waste energy recovery property, and qualified biogas property;
• extends for two years the tax credit for carbon oxide sequestration;
• allows elective payments in lieu of certain energy-related tax credits;
• modifies the phaseout provisions of the income and excise tax credits for biodiesel and renewable diesel and extends the termination date for such credits;
• extends for five years and increases the tax credit for nonbusiness energy property and the new energy efficient home tax credit;
• extends for six years the residential energy efficient property tax credit;
• extends for five years the tax deduction for energy efficient commercial buildings;
• modifies the limitations on new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicles tax credit and allows a new credit for such vehicles that are previously-owned;
• allows a new tax credit for zero emission heavy vehicles (vehicles with a gross weight rating of not less than 14,000 pounds and not powered by an internal combustion engine);
• extends for five years the tax credits for qualified fuel cell motor vehicles and alternative fuel cell refueling property;
• provides for additional allocations of the advanced energy project tax credit;
• allows a new tax credit for the labor costs of installing mechanical insulation property;
• allows a new tax credit to promote environmental justice programs (programs to improve health and economic outcomes of individuals residing in low-income areas or areas populated disproportionately by racial or ethnic minorities); and
• requires the Department of the Treasury to report on the utility of data from the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program for determining the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by taxpayers for purposes of imposing a fee on them for such emissions.

Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov