A trio of bills before the South Carolina legislature are designed to promote renewable energy in the state, as well as conservation by consumers.
Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell’s (R-Charleston) three bills were presented to a state Senate Finance Committee this week. This story from television station WFMY says the first bill dealt with tax breaks for making home improvements for energy savings. And that’s just the beginning:
A second bill would give a sales tax break to companies buying machinery, tools or parts to produce electricity from alternative sources, including solar, wind, tides and biomass.
That kind of break and other energy production incentives have been a huge benefit for companies like Ecogy Biomass, a company that began turning soy oil into biodiesel in Estill in January.
Hal Wrigley, president of Ecogy Biomass and Knightbridge Biofuel said the soy oil for his biodiesel cost $1.75 a gallon last year and was $5.25 a gallon last month.
“Right now, the only lucrative place to sell it is over in Europe,” Wrigley said.
Wrigley wants to see more incentives that encourage companies to mix biodiesel with regular diesel and tax breaks for truckers and other consumers buying biodiesel.
Other bills being considered address existing incentives for people installing solar water heaters or panels to generate electricity.
State and federal income tax breaks for installing those devices have helped Bruce Wood’s Sunstore Solar in Greer. South Carolina had lagged North Carolina and Georgia for years in state tax breaks, Wood said. That meant that he was doing 70 percent of his business out of state. But now 75 percent of his business is in South Carolina and his payroll has tripled to nine people.
“There’s a green movement that’s afoot,” Wood said.
The tax break makes the cost of putting in solar panels more reasonable while shortening the time it takes for the systems to pay for themselves with reduced energy bills. A solar hot water system that costs $6,000 comes with an $1,800 federal tax credit and $1,500 from the state. That means the system will be paying for itself in less than six years, instead of the 12 years it would take without the break, Wood said.
For those who argue that this is just another government handout, officials point out the economic benefit of programs like these. They say the state is poised to add more than 22,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector… if the right incentives are there.
A project north of the border could turn waste plastic into biodiesel. 
“I would say our biggest hurdle is the potential cost to the retailer of putting infrastructure in and the education needed to get customers to support that,” said Robert White, of the Ethanol Promotion and Information Council, a trade group.
According to a 
Wisconsin’s first soybean crushing facility is being built… thanks to a $4 million grant from the state.
A ferry carrying 124 cars in Washington State’s Puget Sound has been running on biodiesel since last month, and officials are hoping to expand the green fuel into another transport.
Fifty years ago, you could see acres and acres of flax growing in the southern part of Texas. Today, the crop once grown for vegetable oil, is finding new life as a feedstock for biodiesel.
“It’s kind of like we’re coming full circle,” said Dr. Gaylon Morgan, small grains researcher and member of the Texas A&M AgriLife project team. “Flax was grown on about 400,000 acres during that time and Texas AgriLife Research had an active flax breeding program.
“Schools, truck drivers, small businesses and families across the commonwealth are feeling the pressure of higher fuel bills on their budgets and wallets,” said McGinty. “Switching from conventional fuels to homegrown biofuels will help break our addiction to foreign oil, bring down costs, strengthen national security, and grow our economy.
Roe explains that Coskata combines both biological and thermochemical processing and can use a wide variety of feedstocks, from wood chips, weeds and non-food crops like miscanthus, to even human waste and carbon-heavy garbage like tires.
Sales of alternative fuel vehicles in the United States, including flex-fuel and hybrid electric, reached 1.8 million last year, about 250,000 more than in 2006.