SEEC Members Urge Passage of PTC/ITC

Today, a group of House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) Members took to the floor to call for an extension of the wind production tax credit (PTC) and wind investment tax credit (ITC). In an unprecedented bicameral effort, 8 SEEC Members joined Colorado Senator Mark Udall (D-CO) on the floors of their respective chambers to speak about the importance of the PTC and ITC to the American economy and the development of a clean energy future.

Both the wind PTC and ITC are set to expire at the end of this year. If Congress extends the PTC, the wind industry anticipates annual installations of 8 to 10 gigawatts and a total of 95,000 jobs. Without its extension, up to 37,000 jobs could be lost. Fear that Congress will not renew this critical provision is already leading to job losses across the industry. Development of offshore wind, facilitated by the ITC, has the potential to give rise to a new manufacturing sector and tens of thousands of quality American jobs. The United States will lose its momentum to develop homegrown, clean energy sources that have the potential to provide hundreds of thousands of jobs while leading to a sustainable solution for the country’s energy needs.

First established through the Energy Policy Act of 1992, the PTC provides a tax credit of 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity produced from utility scale turbines. It has played a critical role in the development of the American wind industry, supporting the creation of 75,000 good-paying, American jobs. According to the American Wind Energy Association, nearly 500 facilities across the United States manufacture components for the wind industry. These facilities provide the industry with the capacity to produce nearly 60 percent of the wind turbine domestically, up from 25 percent five years ago. As a testament to its strength, the wind industry has attracted $75 billion of private investment and wind power accounts for 35 percent of all new energy generating capacity in the past five years. The backbone of this growth is the PTC.

In a coordinated effort at noon today, SEEC Members Jared Polis, Ed Perlmutter, Lois Capps, Bill Keating, Niki Tsongas, Earl Blumenauer, John Garamendi, and Dave Loebsack shared their concerns on the House floor.

Said SEEC Vice Chair Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO), “The wind credit is essential to American jobs, economic growth, and the success of the wind energy industry. Thousands of Colorado jobs are on the line if we let the wind production tax credit expire. We cannot afford to lose these good quality jobs that support Colorado families and communities.”

“The owners and employees of Central Coast companies, like Clipper Wind and Infinity Wind Power, have told me repeatedly that extending the PTC will help them grow and hire. We shouldn’t pull the rug out from underneath these cutting edge companies by letting this key federal incentive lapse, as Mitt Romney and some in Congress are actually suggesting. This would devastate the wind energy industry and would eliminate thousands of jobs across the country, including some here in our area. It’s time to give these innovative companies certainty by taking up a multiyear extension of the PTC now,” said SEEC Member Rep. Lois Capps (D-CA).

Said SEEC Member Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA), “I was proud to join my colleagues from both the House and Senate today and stand in support of the Production Tax Credit and the Investment Tax Credit for offshore wind. In Massachusetts, we’ve witnessed firsthand the critical economic development opportunities that renewable energy projects provide. As we work to promote investments that will reduce our dependence on foreign oil and serve as a central part in our fight against global warming and climate change, it is essential to remember the critical benefit of job creation and specialized expertise that will follow.”

“Last year alone, clean energy jobs in Massachusetts grew eleven percent. If [the wind production tax credit] is allowed to expire, we will lose an important new manufacturing opportunity and American jobs,” said SEEC Member Rep. Niki Tsongas (D-MA).

Said SEEC Member Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), “Thousands and thousands of jobs depend on the extension of the PTC. Vestas, the world's largest wind turbine manufacturer, with its North American headquarters in Portland, has warned that failure to extend the PTC would cause the U.S. wind turbine market to fall by 80 percent next year and force Vestas alone to cut 1,600 U.S. jobs. This is why Congress should pass my bill, H.R. 3307, to extend the PTC to level the playing field for wind energy.”

“The Production Tax Credit has fostered a wind energy industry that has created thousands of jobs in California and across the country and continues to grow,” said Congressman John Garamendi, who as a state legislator authored the first state level clean energy tax credit. “Instead of tearing down the wind turbines that are being built, we need to strengthen our energy independence and Make It In America. My legislation, H.R. 6217, would require that tax payer dollars for clean energy projects are spent on U.S. manufacturing, creating American jobs,” said SEEC Member Rep. John Garamendi (D-CA).

“Extending the wind Production Tax Credit is one of the best ways Congress can boost American manufacturing and made-in-America energy production,” Sen. Mark Udall (D-CO) said. “We have already seen the effects of congressional inaction, with wind manufacturers announcing widespread layoffs. I am glad to have my House colleagues join the chorus of saying, ‘Enough is enough.’ These speeches only add to what has become a bipartisan — and now bicameral — push to pass the PTC ASAP.”