The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure examined how incentives for energy efficiency can fit into tax reform.

Incentives for energy efficiency already exist in the tax code, but the hearing examined how those incentives could be adjusted to work better in a reformed tax code, whether the  tax code is the best place to promote energy efficiency and how to make efficiency incentives as effective as possible.

The committee also considered bills introduced by Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) or Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), which establish or modify incentives for efficiency in commercial buildings, homes and industry.

Witnesses included: Dan Arvizu, director of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory; Steve Nadel, executive director of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; Mark Wagner, vice president for government relations at Johnson Controls Inc.; and Matt Golden, principal of Efficiency.Org and policy chairman of Efficiency First.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) chaired the hearing.