The next step — 05/05/08

Sat, May 17 2008

— The 2008 Kentucky General Assembly will likely always be remembered as much for what it failed to do as for what it accomplished, but at least a few positive steps forward were taken during a session that some long-time observers have called the worst in the state’s history.
One such positive was the approval of House Bill 2 durng the hectic final days of the 60-day session. Sponored by House Majority Leader Rocky Adkins, D-Sandy Hook, it is a logical followup to House Bill 1, a bill sponsored by Adkins that was approved during a special session of the General Assembly last summer.
While House Bill 1 offers tax incentives to industries building commerical-grade alternative energy plants in the state, House Bill 2 promotes energy conservation by businesses and individuals in the state. Its provisions include:
‰ Requiring construction of “environmentally sustainable” buildings for state government and public universities — buildings designed to save energy.
‰ Providing tax credits for residential and commercial construction projects that are energy efficient.
‰ Providing incentives for private investment in hydro power along the Kentucky River.
‰ Requiring enrollment into Kentucky Energy Efficiency Program at the University of Louisville for all local boards of education.
‰ Creating the “Bluegrass Turns Green” program which encourages “demand-side” energy conservation.
The impasct of House Bill 2 will not be as dramatic as House Bill 1, which led Alltech Inc. to recently announce the construction of a $70 million biorefinery in Washington County, becoming the first company to take advantage of tax credits provided in House Bill 1. Alltech predicts that this investment, which will provide almost 100 jobs, could lead to a possible statewide chain of ethanol plants around Kentucky.
With the cost of energy soaring, businessses and individuals already have quite an incentive to seek new and creative ways to reduce their energy consumption. The tax incentives offered by HB 2 provide them with an additional reason to see ways to save.