Big Oil gets big boost from Congress

Thought the $700-billion bailout package was all about getting Wall Street on its feet?

Think again.

Details of the enticements added to the bill to make it palatable to various members of Congress have been trickling out. There are tax incentives offered to producers of power from solar, biomass and wind. Plug-in electric cars got a break as well as other measures to promote conservation and efficiency.

But there also are generous tax breaks to build oil refineries, superheat sand and rocks to extract oil and turn coal into liquid fuel. All are under the heading of "alternative energy" incentives.

-- Julie Cart

Photo: Oil shale from the Piceance Basin in Colorado. Credit: Michael Brands/for the LA Times

Comments

[lonnie]

Plug-in electric cars got a break , how come break is only for manufactured autos ? me like alot of others who have converted our own autos from gas to electric only EV . get no break ? why also is there no funding to create/make a better battery for electric vehicles ? plus at a less cost to buy ? seems like the only best battery to use right now in a EV etc is sold/made by the Chinese . and is very expensive . USA needs alot more products that are made in the USA . USA use to have best quality etc made goods . now its hard to buy a product thats not made in china only . and with it [made in china ] comes alot of junk with no quality etc . this country will never recover if WE keep buying foreign made products and hiring illegal workers .