A coalition of 24 governors from both major parties and each region of the country has asked the Obama administration to take a series of steps to provide a more favorable business climate for the development of wind energy, starting with a seven-year extension of the production tax credit and the investment tax credit, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reports.
The Governors' Wind Energy Coalition has since made public a letter from the governors sent last month to the White House. Signed by coalition Chairman Gov. Lincoln Chafee, I-R.I., and Vice Chairman Gov. Terry Branstad, R-Iowa, the letter says:
‘Although tax credits for wind energy have long enjoyed bipartisan support, they are scheduled to expire next year. Wind-related manufacturing will slow if the credits are not extended, and some of the tax credits' benefit will be lost if Congress pursues a last-minute extension. It is important to have consistency in policy to support the continued development of wind manufacturing in the United States.’
The governors' letter also calls for the following:
– Establishing a combined intergovernmental state-federal task force on wind energy development;
– Expanding the U.S. Department of Energy's renewable energy programs in order to focus on technology research and innovation;
– Improving collaboration on the siting of new wind turbines;
– Expediting deployment of offshore wind; and
– Identifying transmission and grid integration priorities for power marketing administrations such as the Bonneville Power Administration.
