News Tagged ‘tax’

There has been a flurry of media attention being given to Bloom Energy as they get ready to come out of stealth mode with their Bloom Box fuel cell technology.  Bloom Energy has been developing their fuel cell for almost a decade and has received approximately $400M in capital investment from some of Silicon Valley’s biggest names.

K.R. Sridhar, the company’s rocket scientist founder, believes that his fuel cells will be able to power your home in five years at a price tag of around $3,000.  In order to get there, they’re going to have to drive the cost of production way down.  The company has already signed up some very big names with deployments at Google, eBay and FedEx to name a few. The recent state and federal tax benefits that have been created to spur the industry have helped these companies cut the acquisition cost down from the estimated $700,000 price tag for these installs.

The following video, which aired on CBS’ 60 Minutes on February 21, 2010, gives a very good overview of the technology behind the Bloom Box as well as the background of the company.

What do you think? Is K.R.’s vision realistic or can the utility companies stop worrying that their business model is about to go through a major disruption? Let me know in the comments.

President Bush has signed into law an extension of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that will continue to provide the $1.80 per square foot tax deduction for energy efficient commercial and industrial building upgrades through December 31, 2013. This five-year extension was passed by the Senate on October 1 by a vote of 74-25 and by the House on October 3 by a vote of 263-171 as part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 provides valuable tax deductions for businesses that complete energy efficient upgrades on their lighting, HVAC or building envelope systems.  These deductions are available as either a $1.80 per square foot deduction for comprehensive measures that reduce the energy consumption by 50% as compared to the ASHREA 90.1-2001 standard or as a $0.60 per square foot deduction for each system that reduces energy consumption by 16-2/3% as compared to the same standard.

Relight Depot is committed to helping our clients ensure their lighting retrofit projects qualify for the Energy Policy Act tax deduction.  Our expert staff understands the nuances of this important legislation and can guide you in selecting the right fixtures and controls to meet the EPAct requirements.  We have partnered with the leading energy tax firm to provide all of the certifications necessary to achieve the maximum tax deduction possible.  Contact us today if you have any questions about how we can help.