President Clinton Signs Wind Energy Tax Credit
Extension into Law
2˝ Year Extension Will Spur Continued Growth in Wind Development;
President Was Early and Strong Supporter, says AWEA

President Clinton today signed legislation extending the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) an important factor in financing new wind power installations for a period of 2˝ years (30 months). 

“President Clinton was an early and strong supporter of the wind tax credit extension,” said Jaime Steve, legislative director for the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). “Our industry greatly appreciates the President’s effort and his action today.”

Legislation including the credit extension (H.R. 1180, H. Rpt. 106-478) passed the House and Senate just before Congress closed its doors for the Thanksgiving holiday. “It was during crucial end-of-the-year meetings with Congressional leaders that White House negotiators sought inclusion of the wind tax credit,” Steve said. The 1.5 cent per kilowatt-hour credit will be effective
retroactively from June 30, 1999 (the date it expired) through December 31, 2001.

“Today’s action by President Clinton will spur the U.S. wind industry to continue expanding, producing new high-tech jobs, boosting rural economic development and helping achieve cleaner air,” said Randall Swisher, AWEA executive director. “Today’s action is also a significant step forward in generating 5 percent of the nation’s electricity from wind power by the year 2020, a key goal of the Administration’s recently announced Wind Powering America initiative,” Swisher added.

During the 1990s, wind has been the fastest-growing energy technology in the world, with an annual growth rate of 22.6 percent. New high-tech wind turbines also are fueling rural economic development and providing supplementary income for farmers and ranchers leasing small portions of their land to wind developers. A single wind turbine removes only about Ľ acre from agricultural production, while bringing in about $2,000 per year in lease payments.

“Within the Administration, Energy Secretary Bill Richardson a strong proponent of wind energy development and Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers played crucial roles in gaining the PTC extension,” Steve said.

“This winning effort has spanned the tenure of three AWEA presidents: current president Robert Gates (Enron Wind Corp.) and preceding presidents Karen Conover (Global Energy Concepts, Inc.) and Brian O’Sullivan (CEO of the Coram Energy Group). Each made a significant contribution to this victory,” Steve said.

"We are also grateful to our House and Senate bill sponsors, as well as AWEA member companies and individual members, component suppliers, utility industry supporters, and environmental allies, all of whom were vital to our success," Steve added. Since beginning the PTC extension effort in 1997, AWEA and its allies have achieved a number of milestones, including: 

• Attracting 192 sponsors, nearly half of the entire House of Representatives, to the House PTC bill (H.R. 750, introduced by Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif.), including 27 of the 39 members of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. See Sponsors and Issues Page.

• Gaining 27 sponsors on the Senate PTC bill (S. 414, introduced by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa), including a majority of the tax-writing Finance Committee. See Sponsors and Issues Page

• Gaining strong support from the Clinton Administration, which included a PTC extension in its last two budget proposals.

In 1999, AWEA estimates that over 900 megawatts (MW) of new or repowered capacity (in which new more efficient turbines replace older ones) will have been installed, bringing wind energy generating capacity in the United States to approximately 2,500 MW. This new wind energy will power the equivalent of over 240,000 American homes, while creating new jobs and displacing over 1.8 million tons of carbon dioxide (the most abundant greenhouse gas linked to global climate change). This amount of new wind power also will displace about 9,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (a component of acid rain), and other harmful emissions from conventional sources of electricity generation. 

AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy
industry. The association's membership of more than 700 includes turbine
manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and interested
individuals from 49 states. More information on wind energy is available from the home page
of the AWEA web site: http://www.awea.org 

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