According
to an Illinois State University report released this month, wind farms in the
state will add $5.8 billion to the Illinois economy over the life of the
projects. However, much of this economic resurgence is threatened by
Congressional inaction over renewal of the wind energy tax credit which expires
at the end of this year. ISU’s Center for Renewable Energy Director David
Loomis says in the study report that Illinois wind farms have created 19,047
construction jobs here, plus 814 long term jobs in maintaining and operating
the huge windmills. Landowners with turbines on their property earn $13 million
each year from lease payments, and the wind generators pay $28.5 million per
year in property taxes to local governments.
Loomis
points out that wind farm construction is now at a standstill because of the
threatened tax credit expiration. Sierra Club Illinois Chapter President Jack
Darin says that renewal of the tax credit “is critical for the health of our
environment.” Illinois’ wind farms already produce enough electricity to power nearly
200,000 homes per year. Great Plains Laborers District council Legislative
Affairs Director Mike Matejka points out that “Wind jobs are very, very
important as we bridge the recession.”
With
all this economic activity at stake, it seems odd that nobody in Washington,
D.C. is interested in passing a simple bill extending the tax credit before it
is too late to prevent major hits to the wind industry here.
