"Showdown Puts Energy Credit at Risk"

"The Senate Finance Committee’s abrupt move to take up “tax extenders” legislation is testing the lobbying clout of the renewable energy sector and other special interests in Washington.

A draft plan for legislation released Tuesday by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and ranking Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) would provide a two-year extension of 45 tax provisions that lapsed in January.

The legislation, which will be marked up on Thursday, protects several provisions with powerful backers in corporate America, including a credit for research and development and a preference that allows companies to defer paying taxes on offshore financial services income.

But Wyden and Hatch left other tax provisions that had been part of previous “extenders” bills on the cutting room floor — most notably the production tax credit (PTC) for wind and other renewable sources of electricity."

Timothy Cama and Bernie Becker report for The Hill April 2, 2014.