Americans for Prosperity, which describes itself as ‘the nation's largest free-market grassroots organization,’ and 23 other groups have jointly released an open letter calling on Congress to block an extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy.
‘The wind energy industry clearly has little to show for 20 years of tax breaks,’ says Christine Harbin Hanson, Americans for Prosperity's federal affairs manager. ‘Congress should cut its losses and end this wasteful handout for the wind industry once and for all. U.S. energy policy should be based on energy technologies that can make it in the marketplace without special favors from the government.’
In the letter, the coalition calls the PTC a "misguided handout" and claims that wind energy, itself, has issues. The letter says wind power is an expensive energy source that "threatens electrical grid reliability" and is "inefficient."
The coalition is also against a potential phase-out of the wind energy subsidy.
"Proposals to phase out the credit over time are a red herring," the letter says. "A phase-out is still an extension, and it does not address any of the problems that arise from government backing for wind energy."
The PTC, which Congress narrowly extended in early January, is set to expire again on Dec. 31. A number of wind developers, turbine makers and utility companies have cited the tax incentive as an essential economic driver for wind development in the U.S.
The entire letter is available here.
