Without so much as a whimper,
Congress has torpedoed the future of the wind energy industry in the United
States, by failing to include extension of the $0.022/killowatt hour wind
electricity income tax credit in the legislation passed by both houses February
16, whichPresident Obama is expected to sign into law later this week,
extending payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.
While tand alone legislation to extend the wind power credit is theoretically
possible later in this session, a delayed passage of the measure would not
likely save the wind farm projects on the drawing boards for 2013, or the
manufacturing jobs producing the towers and turbines needed to build those wind
farms.
Kevin Borgia, head of the Illinois
Wind Energy Coalition, predicts that without the tax credit, the wind ppower
market will grind to a halt. Paul Bowman, vice president of development for EON
Climate and Renewables North America, says $1 billion of future projects his
company has in planning are now in jeopardy because the tax credit has not been
extended. Bowman says a year end measure extending the tax credit will come to
late to save those plans. Turbine manufacturers and development companies are
already laying off employees in anticipation of declining markets after the end
of this calendar year.
Navigant Consulting predicts a
loss of 37,000 American wind industry jobs within a year as a result of the
legislative delays. Terry Royer, CEO of Winergy, a wind turbine gear box maker,
with 90% of its sales in the US market, says the company is already planning
layoffs. In Illinois alone, 15 wind energy developments aggregating 3.2 million
megawatts, which have already been permitted are at risk of termination because
of Congressional inaction.
