Bipartisan ‘Financing Our Energy Future Act’ could help algae markets

In Washington, D.C., the Algae Biomass Organization is supporting legislation, like the Financing Our Energy Future Act re-introduced earlier this month by U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA-05) and Ron Estes (R-KS-04) that can level the playing field for algae companies that don’t currently qualify for many of the tax advantages enjoyed by the fossil energy industry.

According to ABO, the Financing Our Energy Future Act would allow clean energy companies to form master limited partnerships (MLPs). MLPs are operated and taxed as partnerships but can also be publicly traded, and offer investors liquidity, limited liability and dividends.

For decades, only companies that get their revenues from fossil energy extraction or pipeline projects have been permitted to form MLPs. By combining the funding advantages of corporations and the tax advantages of partnerships, these ventures have been able to more easily attract and deploy capital. Expanding the scope of MLPs could significantly accelerate investment in clean energy projects, including algae cultivation that uses carbon capture for the production of fuel, oils or other valuable products.