Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Energy Bill)

The Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public Law 109-58) is a statute which was passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005 and signed into law on August 8, 2005. The Act provides tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types. Major items to mitigate climate change include: - Provides a tax credit of up to USD 3,400 for owners of hybrid vehicles; - Requires federal facilities to draw a certain percentage of energy from renewable sources; - Authorises loan guarantees for "innovative technologies" that avoid greenhouse gases, which might include advanced nuclear reactor designs (such as PBMR) as well as clean coal and renewable energy; - Increases the amount of biofuel (usually ethanol) that must be mixed with gasoline sold in the United States to triple the current requirement (7.5 billion gallons by 2012); - Seeks to increase coal as an energy source while also reducing air pollution, through authorising $200 million annually for clean coal initiatives, repealing the current 160-acre cap on coal leases, allowing the advanced payment of royalties from coal mines and requiring an assessment of coal resources on federal lands that are not national parks; - Authorises subsidies for wind energy, and other alternative energy producers; - Adds ocean energy sources including wave power and tidal power for the first time as separately identified renewable technologies; - Authorises USD 50 million annually over the life of the bill for a biomass grant program; - Contains several provisions aimed at making geothermal energy more competitive with fossil fuels in generating electricity; - Requires the Department of Energy to study and report on existing natural energy resources including wind, solar, waves and tides; - Provides tax breaks for those making energy conservation improvements to their homes; - Extends Daylight Saving Time by approximately four weeks; - Requires that Federal Fleet vehicles capable of operating on alternative fuels be operated on these fuels exclusively; - Sets federal reliability standards regulating the electrical grid (done in response to the Blackout of 2003); Among other provisions, the bill extends and expands the scope of Section 45 of the Code, which provides a tax credit for the production of electricity from wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal energy, solar energy, small irrigation power, municipal solid waste and refined coal.

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