By Kari Williamson

"We cannot allow a tax increase on American businesses that are creating clean energy jobs in America," Stabenow says.

"These entrepreneurs are inventing new technology, hiring workers, and producing cutting-edge new products that save consumers money and reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Especially when gas prices are rising, we shouldn't be raising taxes on innovators and job creators who are helping to lower America's energy bills."

Stabenow is Co-Chair of the bipartisan Senate Manufacturing Caucus, and was the author of the original Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit – the 30% tax credit for companies that re-equip or build new facilities for clean and renewable energy product manufacturing, which expired in 2010.

The measure extends the tax credit for companies that produce energy-efficient appliances, grants in lieu of tax credits, tax credits for companies that install charging stations for electric vehicles, tax credits for companies producing the next-generation of cellulosic biofuels, and others. It has already been endorsed by the US Chamber of Commerce.

It also extends the Production Tax Credit for wind energy, which supports businesses and utilities that produce electricity from wind.