Emcor CEO: Stimulus needs green tax credits

By Nick Carey

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The proposed economic stimulus package of President-elect Barack Obama should focus more on the private sector and provide tax credits for the green retrofitting of buildings, the top executive of construction and engineering firm Emcor Group Inc said on Tuesday.

"The stimulus package will provide a significant boost for the construction industry," Chief Executive Frank MacInnis told Reuters in a telephone interview. "But it cannot be successfully implemented if the money is just given to governments at all levels."

"I would strongly advocate tax reductions and tax credits for the retrofitting of private-sector buildings for energy efficiency," he added.

Obama has called for the retrofitting of buildings in the United States to lower costs and reduce America's dependence on other countries for fuel.

"If the stimulus includes tax credits then I am sure we will see immediate benefits," MacInnis said. "It would be much easier to persuade private-sector customers to invest in retrofitting if their investment paid off in two to three years instead of four to five years."

He said that Emcor products such as variable speed motors for air conditioning systems or modern electrical systems to provide lighting could be used to retrofit private-sector buildings.

MacInnis said if the stimulus is left just in the hands of local governments, he fears it will not have the desired effect of kick starting the sagging U.S. economy.

"If this is left just to the public sector then there is a greater risk of inefficient or short-sighted spending," MacInnis said. "That would do no more than reward the cronies of the politicians handing out the funds."