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newsroom Wind Energy in the NewsSame Result, Different Week:
PTC Stalls, But Latest Vote In what paradoxically may prove to be a small step toward ultimate passage, the U.S. Senate on June 17 again was not able to secure the votes needed to act on a wide-ranging package of tax credit extensions including a one-year extension of the wind energy production tax credit (PTC). The PTC—vital to planning future wind project development—is due to expire December 31 of this year. With the tax package left unchanged from the previous week’s version, and in a resulting nearly identical outcome, the legislation again fell well short of the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. The 52-44 vote on the bill, which was put forward by Senate Democrats, was largely along party lines. While both Republicans and Democrats support extending the PTC, the parties are engaged in a broader policy dispute over whether to pay for, or offset, spending on tax items by reducing spending elsewhere. Both parties have put forth legislation that would extend the PTC with varying offset approaches. “This vote and the similar one last week should be viewed more as a prelude to negotiations than an actual effort to enact the proposal brought to the Senate floor,” said Greg Wetstone, AWEA’s senior director of governmental and public affairs. This week, there were indications that Senate Democrats and Republicans have begun serious discussions about proceeding with tax credit extensions, but action is still expected to progress slowly. AWEA continues to work with wind industry members and a broad range of allies to make sure members of Congress and the broader public understand the urgency of the issue. AWEA urges its members to reach out to their Congressional representatives in the Senate and House. Their contact information as well as information on sending e-mail messages to Congress are available on AWEA’s Take Action web page. Source: Wind Energy Weekly, 20 June 2008
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