Clean Currents President Gary Skulnik met with clean energy champion Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) on Wednesday, in an attempt to get intel on where the renewable energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) stands.   

At the moment, the PTC is set to expire at the end of 2012.  After meeting with Sen. Cantwell, Gary learned that Congressional opposition to extending the PTC has been dropped and the Senate will vote on this in July.  This is great news for the domestic clean energy industry!  But the battle isn't over yet.  Click HERE to tell your Senator that you support extending the renewable energy PTC. 

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Clean Currents supports the extension of the PTC for the following reasons:

Wind-generated energy is more reliable and affordable than ever before

Not just in the U.S., but also around the world, wind turbine installations are on the rise and are expected to grow significantly in coming years. The wind industry has been able to lower the cost of wind-generated power by more than 90 percent since the PTC was first established and production costs have fallen by 80 percent in the last 20 years.

Wind power is responsible for a significant portion of new energy generation capacity

Over the past four years, wind has provided 35% of new energy capacity in the U.S. That’s second only to natural gas and is more than coal and nuclear power generation combined. Today, wind-generated energy powers the equivalent of 10 million homes throughout the country.

The economic consequences of letting the PTC expire would be devastating

Thirty-one states host businesses that rely in some way on the wind industry, and the effect of stalled expansion would likely affect them all.  Today, there are 50,000 megawatts of wind power installed in the U.S. and more than 8,000 under construction.  This year is looking to be a great one for the wind industry, as players scramble to get turbines on line by the end of 2012 in order to take advantage of the PTC before it potentially expires.  But future projects are in jeopardy. Wind power projects slated for 2013 should already be in process, but developers are putting on the brakes while Congress decides what to do with the tax credit.  Soon, we will see the effect of those project delays in massive layoffs, which we can hardly afford as the country slowly recovers from its deep recession.

Letting the PTC expire is the equivalent of raising taxes on domestic renewable energy

The PTC is one way the U.S. can encourage success in domestic energy production and support one of the most promising opportunities for continued economic growth.  If the U.S. continues along its current rate of energy production and achieves 20% electricity generation from wind by 2030, 500,000 American jobs will be added in the wind production sector.  Certainly, green energy and the jobs it funds are worthy of Congress’ attention and support.

Click HERE to read more about the renewable energy PTC

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