Wind Energy

Extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC)

Guest blogger John Tarantino has a nice piece at Triple Pundit looking at the proposed extension of the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the recent Navigant Consulting report looking at the consequences of extending the wind power incentive or allowing it to expire.

Tarantino summarizes the numbers reported by Navigant: with a four-year extension, 8,000 to 10,000 MW of new wind farm capacity (enough to power the equivalent of 2 million to 3 million homes) each year through 2016 and an increase in wind turbines supported jobs to 95,000; without an extension, a possible drop to 2,000 MW in 2013 accompanied by the loss of 37,000 jobs.

Losing the credit, he notes, would also yield ground to foreign competitors such as Germany, which is strongly supporting its domestic renewable energy industries.

Tarantino’s conclusion? "Am I for the extension of the PTC? You bet I am. Supporting an industry that reduces environmental issues, health problems, and reliance on foreign imports ought to be a no brainer. It takes time and new technologies and innovations to foster a successful new industry. As William Shakespeare said ‘to climb steep hills requires slow pace at first’ and that is exactly the happenings of the wind energy industry. If the industry is cut at the throat, it will never have a chance to thrive."

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