One voice: Iowa Senate unites in call for PTC extension

We’ve got some great news coming out of Iowa today. On a bipartisan, unanimous vote, the Iowa State Senate approved a resolution calling on the federal government to extend the wind energy Production Tax Credit, wind’s primary policy driver.

The unanimous and bipartisan vote should come as no surprise, as Iowa understands the economic and other benefits of American wind power. Back in the 1980s, Republican Governor Terry Branstad, who happens to be governor once again, played a big role in getting the nation’s first state Renewable Portfolio Standard on the books.

Iowans now get nearly 25 percent of their energy from wind power, which has driven billions of dollars into their state’s economy, supports over 6,000 good-paying jobs, and provides millions of dollars a year to the state’s landowners. For Iowa family farmers and ranchers, wind has become a new drought-resistant cash crop.

And the more Iowans know about wind, the more they want. Last year Iowa utility MidAmerican Energy announced plans to add over 1,000 MW of wind generation in the Hawkeye State—by the end of next year.

So no wonder the resolution passed with a resounding yes to wind from both sides of the aisle. “WHEREAS, Iowa is the third largest producer of wind energy in the nation,” the resolution begins, and goes from there.

The PTC is wind energy’s primary policy driver and has spurred tens of billions of dollars of private investment in the nation.  The resolution calls for “the extension of the federal production tax credit for wind energy, preferably for a multiple-year period to maximize the benefits of the production tax credit.”

Agree? Then write your federal legislator asking them to extend the PTC so that businesses in the wind industry can have the certainty they need to develop clean, homegrown, affordable wind power.