Mnuchin agrees with Grassley, PTC phaseout a done deal

In case you missed it, an important exchange took place last week during Treasury Secretary Nominee Steven Mnuchin’s confirmation hearing.

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) looked to confirm a response Mnuchin gave in a meeting before the hearing, in which he agreed the phaseout of the wind energy Production Tax Credit should remain in place.

Grassley specifically said: “As we discussed, Congress has effectively put in place transition rules for some alternative energy, including wind. The production tax credit is scheduled to phaseout over the next few years, ending in 2020. Based on our conversation, I believe we are in agreement that you would support the current phaseout as part of any tax reform proposal.”

Mnuchin agreed with Grassley saying: “On this point, I absolutely agree with you. We do need to have phaseout rules when we change things. I support the phaseout of that as you suggested.”

Stable investment policy is critical to continue growing wind energy and the number of well-paying jobs it supports. capacity over the next six years could result in $60 billion in new investment to the U.S. economy, based on an average of wind deployment estimates from consulting groups MAKE, BNEF, IHS, and Navigant. American wind power currently supports over 100,000 jobs according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Keeping this successful policy in place will allow for wind power to create another 130,000 jobs within the next four years.