By Elizabeth McCulley Gore, The Huffington Post.

Congress struck a major compromise on energy policy last December: Republicans agreed to provide some certainty and longevity for renewable energy tax provisions in exchange for Democrats agreeing to lift the oil export ban.

On the tax side, this package included an Investment Tax Credit for solar energy that would ramp down over a number of years, eventually becoming permanent with a smaller credit than in the earlier years. For wind, the package included a Production Tax Credit that will be ramped down and phased out over five years. The goal of the package was to end the stop-start tax incentives that are so disruptive to businesses and utilities that want to deploy additional renewable power.