WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and her colleagues today sent a letter to U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, urging him to oppose another wind production tax credit (PTC) extension.
“The wind production tax incentive was originally intended by Congress to support a technology that was too expensive in its early stages. It was supposed to be temporary in order to level the playing field with other power generators,” the senators wrote. “However, over time, the reverse has occurred. These tax provisions have become a competitive advantage to wind generators.”
The wind PTC, which a project can claim for the first ten years of operation, was first enacted in 1992 and scheduled to expire on July 1, 1999. Since 1999, it has been extended 12 times. Most recently, the wind PTC was extended for one year as part of last December’s appropriations package. Senator Capito and her colleagues have been working to ensure it expires this year and are looking for ways to support reliable sources of energy like coal and natural gas, which do not receive comparable production tax credits.
Senator Capito is joined on the letter by Senators Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), and Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.).
Click here to read the letter.
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