This week, both the House and Senate voted on and passed sweeping legislation to shore up troubled financial markets.  Included in the comprehensive bill, was an incentive package that would extend and revise, among other things, the existing Investment Tax Credits for fuel cells.

On Monday the House failed to pass the financial bailout bill, prompting the Senate to come up with a revised version.  On Wednesday, Senators voted on and passed by a vote of 74-25 a financial bailout bill that included alternative energy tax credits to the controversial legislation.

Today the House took up the Senate-passed legislation and cleared the bill by a vote of 263 -171.

The action represents a significant win for the industry.  Without it, the Investment Tax Credits were scheduled to expire on December 31^st of 2008.  The President immediately signed the bill into law, making the Investment Tax Credits valid until 2016.  The revised statue will allow purchasers to write off 30% up to $3,000 per kW off the cost of a qualified fuel cell unit from their tax liability.

On Tuesday, the US Fuel Cell Council joined other alternative energy concerns to urge Congress to act before adjourning for the November election.   The public release came on the heels of a report commissioned by the Department of Energy on employment scenarios for fuel cell commercialization.  It concluded that commercializing fuel cells could generate 675,000 new jobs over the next 25 years.