Stop Wind Energy Industry Subsidies

It’s certainly no secret that wind energy would barely have gotten off the ground if not for the billions of dollars in subsidies the industry has received. It’s always been about the money. Even those inside the wind industry know this. It has had 20 years of heavy subsidization, time enough for opportunistic developers to have progressed to the self-sustaining point, or admit failure. But it’s definitely time this unnecessary expenditure for taxpayers is eliminated.

To help stop the flow of taxpayer money into the pockets of just a few, it’s important to contact your Senators immediately concerning an amendment to the Surface Transportation bill, S. 1813; the Senate is expected to begin sorting through amendments to this bill on March 1.

Amendment No. 1624 to S. 1813, introduced by two Senators from Colorado, Bennet and Udall and one from Kansas, Moran, calls for the extension of the Production Tax Credit, which is also known as the Wind Energy Credit.

Here’s the text of the amendment:

   SEC. __X. EXTENSION OF WIND ENERGY CREDIT.
    Paragraph (1) of section 45(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by striking ``January 1, 2013'' and inserting ``January 1, 2014''.
   SEC. __X. COST OFFSET FOR EXTENSION OF WIND ENERGY CREDIT, AND DEFICIT REDUCTION, RESULTING FROM DELAY IN APPLICATION OF WORLDWIDE ALLOCATION OF INTEREST.
In General.--Paragraphs (5)(D) and (6) of section 864(f) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are each amended by striking ``December 31, 2020'' and inserting ``December 31, 2021''.

The congressional Joint Committee on Taxation says the direct cost of extending this subsidy for wind energy would be $6.8 billion from 2011 to 2015, just for new projects implemented by the end of this year, 2012. It’s time to cut the cord that is bleeding the American taxpayer for the sake of Big Wind. Forcing taxpayers and electricity consumers to line the pockets of a few needs to be eliminated.

We hear so much these days about “leveling the playing field.” Well, let’s make sure that when it comes to generating power, the playing field is indeed level, and that this unsustainable form of subsidy for wind energy is eliminated. The Europeans have already figured out that wind energy is a waste of money and have severely cut back. It’s simply not the proper role of government to be propping up a for-profit private industry.

Send your Senators and Representative an email in opposition to any further wind energy subsidies, such as the proposed Amendment No. 1624 to S. 1813.

Thanks.

Your friends at The John Birch Society

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