Second effort begins to extend expiring wind tax credit

Iowa's United States senators have joined a bipartisan effort to extend the wind energy production tax credit after an earlier legislative effort failed Tuesday.

The tax credit is 2.2 cents per kilowatt hour of energy generated over the first 10 years of production. It has undergone a series of short-term extensions, the latest set to expire at the end of this year.

Wind industry supporters faced disappointment Tuesday when an amendment to the federal transportation bill that would have extended the credit one year failed on a 49-49 vote to pass the Senate.

The American Energy and Jobs Promotion Act introduced Thursday would extend the tax credit by two years.

U.S. senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, joined five other senators in sponsoring the bill.

Uncertainty about the renewal of the credit has contributed to a slump in sales of new wind turbines. Iowa is one of the leading states in both wind production and wind turbine equipment manufacturing, with major wind equipment production facilities for Acciona Windpower, Clipper Windpower, Trinity Towers and Siemens among others.

Des Moines-based MidAmerican Energy has more wind energy capacity than any other regulated utility in the United States.

The bill sponsors argued that a lapse in the credit would threaten up to 37,000 wind industry jobs at a time when the economy remains fragile.

Two of the other sponsoring senators were from Colorado, where wind turbine manufacturer Vestas has a major production facility. Sponsors from Nevada and Oregon also spoke to the promise of wind energy to bring jobs to their states.

Wind industry supporters face apathy and some opposition from states heavily invested in fossil fuel production, as well as growing concerns about balancing the budget.

Grassley authored the first federal wind production credit in 1992, which was designed to give wind energy the ability to compete against nuclear and coal-fired power generation.