Blogger sees PTC extension as 'no-brainer'
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 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 capacity (enough to power the equivalent of 2 million to 3 million homes) each year through 2016 and an increase in wind-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.”
Exactly.
More reading:
Don't hit wind with job-killing tax hike, December 5, 2011
Fact check: Pompeo and Labrador miss mark with subsidy bill, December 1, 2011
Selective Use of Energy Subsidies is Unfair (letter to editor, Washington Times), November 30, 2011
Red State Energy, Red State Jobs, November 29, 2011
Governors' letter urges prompt extension of wind tax incentive, November 16, 2011
Wind power: Keeping America's lunch money at home, November 14, 2011
Clean energy: A bipartisan goal, November 9, 2011
Nonpartisan Congressional report underscores need for stable wind energy policy, October 3, 2011
Iowa Gov. Branstad cites wind jobs, current and future, September 14, 2011