U.S. Senate and House members are pushing for an end to a federal tax credit for wind power suppliers, saying the industry is profitable and no longer needs a government subsidy.
“This production tax credit was established years ago to help the fledgling renewable energy industry. Now, when you drive through my state and many others with countless wind turbines, you can see that the wind industry is no longer a start-up, new energy source,” Sen. James Lankford (R-Ok.) said in a release. “The wind industry is thriving and does not need federal taxpayers’ money to thrive. Even though Congress concluded four years ago that the wind tax credit served its purpose and should be phased out by the end of 2019, the PTC was instead unexpectedly extended for the twelfth time at the end of last year. With $26 trillion in national debt and ever-present deficit spending issues, we must return to the spirit of the 2015 agreement and allow this market-distorting credit to expire for new projects at the end of this year.”
Lankford is joined by other Republican lawmakers including Sens. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), John Hoven (R-N.D.) and Shelley Capito (R-W.V.) and U.S. Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-Texas) in sponsoring the new legislation titled the PCT Elimination Act.
“When the production tax credit was created in 1992, it served as a temporary boost for energy innovation,” Marchant said in the release. “Almost 30 years later, it now acts as a taxpayer-funded handout to the multibillion-dollar wind industry. They regularly produce more energy than the market demands and there is no reason for the tax code to subsidize them while they rake in their profits. That is why I am proud to introduce this legislation that will end the PTC and save taxpayers billions of dollars over the coming decade.”
The act will amend the Internal Revenue Code to phase out completely tax credits for renewable energy sources like wind.
Cramer said in a release the tax credit enjoyed by wind-power companies is unfair and has outlived an expiration date.
“Our bill helps level the energy market by forcing this disruptive tax credit to finally expire,” he said.
The report said the PTC was adopted as part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. Since then, wind power has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry, from 1,500 million megawatts in 1992 to more than 110,000 million megawatts currently. The cost for taxpayers has mushroomed also, the report noted, from $5.7 billion in its first years to $19.5 billion projected through 2023.
Approximately 35% of the electricity generated in Oklahoma comes from wind power.
