U.S. Rep. Steve King (R-IA): PTC is jobs engine conservatives should support
“Low, stable tax rates generate jobs and economic growth. This idea has been the bedrock of conservative economic ideology for decades. One industry that represents this essential conservative principle is U.S. wind energy.”
That's Congressman Steve King (R-Iowa), who explained in a Politico op-ed yesterday why he believes the federal wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) should be extended. The PTC will expire at the end of this year under current law, but has already effectively expired for manufacturers of wind turbines and their components, items that require lead time to produce.
Some highlights of Rep. King's article:
– The PTC has driven “as much as $20 billion a year” of private investment into the wind industry, a major reason why it has accounted for more than a third of the new electric generating capacity installed in the U.S. in recent years.
– The PTC has bipartisan support, as well as backing from a number of major business associations including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the Edison Electric Institute.
– Iowa has shown what wind power can do, with wind generating 20 percent of the state's electricity, supporting up to 5,000 jobs, attracting $300 million in new manufacturing investment, and providing $11 million in annual rental payments to farmers.
– Workers are already being laid off in the wind industry due to the uncertainty created by Congress's delay in extending the PTC. While the credit is still in place, “the economic damage has already begun.”
Concludes Rep. King, “This is not a partisan issue. It is a manufacturing jobs issue. With low taxes, wind power can deliver tremendous benefits – in jobs, investment and clean energy — to Iowa and the nation.”
Related articles:
Bennet, Moran continue bipartisan push to extend PTC, February 16, 2012
Major U.S. consumer brands like Nike on extending the PTC: Just Do It!, February 15, 2012
Oklahoma Gov. Fallin urges conferees: Extend the PTC, February 15, 2012
Michigan worker's plea: Extend PTC, help wind power create U.S. jobs, February 13, 2012
Bipartisan letter from entire Iowa Congressional delegation urges: Extend the PTC, February 10, 2012
Senate Energy Chairman Bingaman: Act now to save clean-energy jobs, February 9, 2012
Bipartisan letter from Colorado Congressional delegation urges: Extend the PTC, February 8, 2012
Republican governors push for PTC extension; Senators express support, February 2, 2012
U.S. Chamber of Commerce joins broad range of groups endorsing PTC extension, February 1, 2012
WindTV: Wind power drives commerce in small-town America, January 24, 2012
Denver Post endorses PTC extension 'sooner rather than later', January 18, 2012
WSJ op-ed: 'Want Growth? Try Stable Tax Policy', January 5, 2012
Red State Energy, Red State Jobs, November 29, 2011
Governors' letter urges prompt extension of wind tax incentive, November 16, 2011