South Coast Solar

Officials from New Orleans want incentives similar to those that lured Sylvester Stallone to Louisiana to make his next action feature film offered to the state’s renewable energy industry, which they say could be the next economic blockbuster.

Micah Galy, a lead solar technician for South Coast Solar, installs solar electric panels on the roof of a Garden District home. (Photo by Frank Aymami)

Officials from New Orleans want incentives similar to those that lured Sylvester Stallone to Louisiana to make his next action feature film offered to the state’s renewable energy industry, which they say could be the next economic blockbuster.

But whether the Legislature, which convenes today in Baton Rouge, has the stomach to offer more tax breaks while making drastic budget cuts remains to be seen.

Backers of House Bill 733, also known as the Louisiana Green Jobs Initiative, say it would attract jobs and build an industry on a “green” foundation — energy sources such as solar, wind, biomass and hydroelectric, and products and services that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.

The measure, sponsored by state Rep. Walt Leger III, D-New Orleans, and crafted with the help of New Orleans City Councilwoman Shelley Midura’s office, calls for incentives similar to those available to the movie and theater industry. It proposes tax breaks for infrastructure development and payroll, including a bonus credit for companies that hire graduates of Louisiana vocational training programs.

Proponents say the incentives could go a long way toward positioning a state that has long been an oil and gas hub as an epicenter of an environmentally sustainable growth industry. Louisiana, advocates contend, is well suited to capture and develop opportunities in renewable energy, in some respects even more so than other locales that might on the surface appear to be more obvious choices.

Seung Hong, Midura’s chief of staff, points to the energy potential to be found in the state’s agricultural, solar, wind and water assets, along with the recent proliferation of “demand-side incentives” on the state and local level.

Included among these are the state tax credit that refunds 50 percent of the first $25,000 of the cost of installing residential solar or wind power systems and a new energy-efficiency financing program the City Council ratified this year.

“The goal of this legislation,” Hong said of the Green Jobs Initiative, “is to make sure that all of that demand we’re creating is focused” on helping grow a new economy. “And we’re ahead of the rest of the country on this. It’s not like California is 15 years ahead of us on this. They’re not. We’re in a position where we could actually become a national leader in this new economy.”

Also, despite the budgetary shortfall the state is facing, Hong said the situation “is nowhere near that faced by places like California.”

In Louisiana and New Orleans, officials historically have pursued low-paying and low-mobility jobs, Hong said, and too often have been late to the game in pursuing new industries, such as recent efforts to attract a biotech sector — an industry already well-advanced in other parts of the country and requiring a highly skilled labor pool.

“Green jobs,” by contrast, “are white collar and blue collar jobs,” Hong said, based in areas ranging from research science to solar panel installation, and they tend to pay well.

The starting salary for solar panel installers in the New Orleans area, for example, is between $37,000 and $40,000, said Scott Oman, chief technology officer for solar energy company South Coast Solar.

Advocates believe the green jobs legislation carries appeal for Republicans and Democrats alike. Still, significant challenges remain, perhaps foremost is finding a money source at a time when the state faces serious budgetary constraints.

“Being able to clearly articulate a concrete return on investment may be challenging,” Leger conceded.

Given the state’s financial picture and the bevy of tax breaks proposed for ratification and extension this year, Jim Brandt, president of the nonprofit research organization Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, suggested passage might be unrealistic.

“I just sense that there are so many of them for so many laudable purposes that I don’t see many of them going any place,” Brandt said. “Unless there’s a change in the fiscal outlook, which I don’t think anyone’s expected, it’s just a very difficult year for new tax credits.”

Asked for his thoughts on the green jobs initiative, Don Briggs, Louisiana Oil and Gas Association president, suggested proponents look to expand the definition of green.

In Louisiana, Briggs said, the biggest “green opportunity” to be found is in natural gas.

“It’s the one fuel that we have plenty of,” he said, pointing to the Haynesville Shale find in north Louisiana. “That’s what you have to concentrate on.”

To that end, Briggs is lobbying for another tax incentive program, one that aims to encourage the sale of alternative vehicle fuels, including compressed natural gas. He has called passage of the legislation his organization’s No. 1 priority this legislative session.

Despite the obstacles his bill could face, Leger is adamant the measure is worthy of passage.

“It is imperative that the state make strategic investments to encourage economic investment and growth,” he said.•

Source: New Orleans City Business.com