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newsroom
Randall Swisher, Executive Director of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), today delivered the following statement at a joint press conference in Washington, D.C., held by AWEA, the Geothermal Energy Association, the National Hydropower Association, and the Solar Energy Industries Association: The U.S. wind energy industry had a remarkable year in 2007. Shattering all its previous records, the industry installed 5,244 megawatts (MW) in 2007, expanding the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 45% in a single calendar year and injecting an investment of over $9 billion into the economy. The new wind projects account for about 30% of the entire new power-producing capacity added nationally in 2007 and will power the equivalent of 1.5 million American households annually. It was the third consecutive year of record-setting growth, establishing wind power as one of America’s largest sources of new electricity supply. This very impressive growth is driven by three major ingredients: strong demand, favorable economics, and most importantly for our discussion today, a three-year period of blessed relief from the on-again, off-again, boom-and-bust, cycle of the federal production tax credit (PTC) for wind power. But the PTC and tax incentives for other renewable energy sources are now in danger of lapsing at the end of this year——and at the worst moment for the U.S economy:
We have shown—in spades—what we can do with a stable investment climate and federal incentive. The last thing we should be doing today, as a country, is imposing new taxes on an industry that today is hard at work producing new manufacturing jobs and fresh economic opportunities, and helping to reduce global warming pollution. We call on Congress and the President to quickly extend the PTC—the only existing U.S. incentive for wind power—in order to keep this industry growing and strong. More specifically, we urge that an extension be included in the economic stimulus legislation now being developed in Congress. The following chart illustrates the impacts of the expiration-and-extension cycles of the production tax credit on annual wind power installations and shows how stability in the availability of the credit spurs growth.
AWEA, formed in 1974, is the national trade association of the U.S. wind energy industry. The association's membership includes turbine manufacturers, wind project developers, utilities, academicians, and interested individuals. More information on wind energy is available at the AWEA web site: www.awea.org. # # # |
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