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Judi Lynn

(160,545 posts) Fri Dec 18, 2015, 09:44 PM Dec 2015

Congress kills U.S. oil export ban, boosts solar, wind power

Source: Reuters

Congress kills U.S. oil export ban, boosts solar, wind power
Reuters
By Timothy Gardner
2 hours ago

(Reuters) - The U.S. Congress voted on Friday to repeal the 40-year-old ban on exporting U.S. crude oil in an energy policy shift sought by Republicans as part of a bipartisan deal that also provided unprecedented tax incentives for wind and solar power.

The Senate, on a 65-33 vote, approved lifting the ban and providing five-year extensions of tax breaks to boost renewable energy development as part of a $1.8 trillion government spending and tax relief bill that President Barack Obama quickly signed into law.

. . .

Democrats who backed the deal asserted that its provisions encouraging renewable energy were important for combating global climate change.

"This is the biggest deal for addressing climate change that we are going to see," Heinrich said in an interview.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/house-passes-bill-freeing-u-oil-exports-senate-161742293.html

10 replies

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Congress kills U.S. oil export ban, boosts solar, wind power (Original Post) Judi Lynn Dec 2015 OP

Poor oil companies have been losing money lately and they jwirr Dec 2015 #1

Like many compromises in this package elmac Dec 2015 #4

good for big oil, bad for drivers elmac Dec 2015 #2

Of course they're not doing it to help Unknown Beatle Dec 2015 #3

The export ban on gasoline was lifted in 1981 Sen. Walter Sobchak Dec 2015 #5

Good news for some mac2766 Dec 2015 #6

this export include the new Utah shale oil sludge? so USA again has toxic tar pipelined to ports? Sunlei Dec 2015 #7

Check out this article on the ban being lifted YusufatKerr Dec 2015 #8

Horrible! Prepared to frak until the cows come home or they destroy the country first. n/t Judi Lynn Dec 2015 #9

given the price of oil, you wonder if much will be sold. karynnj Dec 2015 #10

jwirr

(39,215 posts)

1. Poor oil companies have been losing money lately and they

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Fri Dec 18, 2015, 09:47 PM

Dec 2015

need to export it out of the USA.

elmac

(4,642 posts)

4. Like many compromises in this package

Reply to jwirr (Reply #1)

Fri Dec 18, 2015, 10:36 PM

Dec 2015

the repubs got the gold, we got the shaft.

elmac

(4,642 posts)

2. good for big oil, bad for drivers

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Fri Dec 18, 2015, 10:05 PM

Dec 2015

as gas in the US will go up as supply drops.

Unknown Beatle

(2,672 posts)

3. Of course they're not doing it to help

Reply to elmac (Reply #2)

Fri Dec 18, 2015, 10:35 PM

Dec 2015

the consumer, they want to squeeze the last penny out of them.

Sen. Walter Sobchak

(8,692 posts)

5. The export ban on gasoline was lifted in 1981

Reply to elmac (Reply #2)

Fri Dec 18, 2015, 10:56 PM

Dec 2015

The problem in the US domestic market today is that refiners prefer heavier crude such as Canadian heavy. A glut of US light crude does them no good other than it applies downward pressure on heavier crude which they will continue to use.

There isn't a terribly strong business case for retooling an existing refinery to exploit this stuff.

mac2766

(658 posts)

6. Good news for some

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Sat Dec 19, 2015, 02:20 PM

Dec 2015

Good news for those of us considering solar installation. By extending the tax credit an additional 5 years, I/we can breath a little easier. I'm building a new house this year and want to build it with efficiency in mind, but was feeling a bit rushed with my decisions. I can now eliminate the solar panels from the initial cost and I'll be able to add the PV panels in the next year or two.

Just too bad the "sunshine" state doesn't support solar as well. Florida has ended all of their incentive programs.