Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
technologies. As of 2006, only seven states had incentives for coal gasification
and IGCC technologies, according to the National Conference of State
Legislatures. We found no national database on states' nuclear incentives,
although industry officials said that states or localities may offer a variety of
economic incentives to attract large businesses, such as a nuclear power plant.
An industry association official noted that states may have an important
influence over regulatory incentives for fossil plants, such as requiring new coal-
fired plants to employ mercury removal technologies. For example, Idaho has
stopped construction on all conventional pulverized coal-fired power plants until
the state finishes researching the possibility of building new gasification plants
that significantly reduce mercury emissions. Similarly, while industry officials say
state and local incentives for new nuclear plants—the most common of which are
property tax breaks—do not significantly impact the high costs of plants, states
may have an indirect impact on encouraging or discouraging the construction of
new nuclear plants. For example, seven states specifically discourage or prohibit
the construction of new nuclear plants until methods of waste disposal are
determined. In contrast, some states and localities may send more positive signs
about nuclear energy by offering economic enticements. For instance, Calvert
County, Maryland, recently offered a 50-percent, 15-year property tax credit to
the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power plant's owner if another nuclear reactor is built.
The Countries We Reviewed Have Stimulated the Development and
Deployment of Advanced Renewable, Fossil,
and Nuclear Energy Technologies
We identified six countries—Brazil, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Spain, and
France—that illustrate a range of financial initiatives and mandates to stimulate
the development and deployment of advanced renewable, fossil, and nuclear
energy technologies. For example, successful use of financial incentives and/or
mandates has enabled Germany to generate 10.2 percent of its electricity from
renewable sources and Denmark to generate 19 percent of its electricity from
wind technologies, surpassing the United States in the percentage of electricity
derived from renewable sources.
Brazil Has Displaced 40 Percent of Its Gasoline Consumption with Ethanol
In 1975, in response to oil price shocks, Brazil initiated a program to replace
imported oil with ethanol produced from domestic sugarcane to power vehicles.
To stimulate its ethanol industry, Brazil (1) required its major oil company,
Petrobras, to purchase a guaranteed amount of ethanol; (2) provided $4.9 billion
