The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Washington, D.C., presented a plan today to Capitol Hill legislators that would gradually phase out the federal Production Tax Credit that the wind industry has enjoyed after 2018. AWEA’s plan recommends the tax credit would start at 100% of the current 2.2 cents a kilowatt-hour for projects started in 2013, and be phased down to 90% of that value for projects placed in service in 2014; 80% in 2015; 70% in 2016; and 60% in both 2017 and 2018, ending after that.
In a press release announcing the plan, Denise Bode, AWEA's CEO, said, “We're already showing we're a leader in innovation. Now we're showing we're a leader in addressing the country's fiscal issues. At the same time, our number-one priority right now is not putting the wind industry over its own fiscal cliff.
"Congress must extend the wind energy Production Tax Credit for projects that start next year, to save an entire U.S. manufacturing sector and 37,000 jobs that we'll otherwise lose by early 2013. Specifically we urge Congress to extend the wind tax credit for all projects that commence construction in 2013, as adopted by the Senate Finance Committee on Aug. 2, on a bipartisan 19-5 vote."
AWEA says the Production Tax Credit (PTC), is a policy with “long-standing bi-partisan support,” and that it has succeeded in incentivizing an average of $15.5 billion a year in private investment in U.S. wind farms over the past five years. It provides a tax credit of 2.2 cents a kilowatt-hour once the electricity is generated, for the first 10 years that a U.S. wind farm is in operation. Details