A new national poll finds that wide majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents support U.S. wind energy and back a production tax credit (PTC) extension.
‘These poll results couldn't be clearer,’ says Tom Kiernan, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). ‘It's time for Congress to do what the majority of Americans want – and that means extending the production tax credit so we can keep scaling up this critically important American energy source.’
Gotham Research Group conducted the survey from Nov. 20-23. It reached 1,015 U.S. adults old enough to vote by a combination of land lines and cell phones and identified 832 registered voters, for a margin of error of +/-3.1% for U.S. adults and +/-3.4% for registered voters.
The poll found 73% of registered voters support continuing the PTC, including 63% of registered Republicans, 74% of Independents, and over 71% overall in all regions of the country.
AWEA says the results show unwavering support among registered voters, as it follows a poll conducted last December by USA Today, Stanford University and Resources for the Future. That survey also found 73% support for tax incentives to encourage investment in clean energy.Â
Furthermore, this latest poll found 79% of registered voters, including 69% of Republicans, agree with the statement ‘incentives for investment in wind energy help American workers make more of our own energy right here in America."
The poll comes as the U.S. wind industry continues to call on Congress to pass the EXPIRE Act, a tax extenders bill that has been stalled since May. The legislation covers over 50 expired tax credits and includes a PTC extension, as well as a wind developer's option to choose a 30% investment tax credit in lieu of the PTC.
According to AWEA, failures to continue the PTC by Congress in the past have caused an up-to-92% drop in new wind power installations over the previous year, causing the loss of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in private investment to the U.S. economy.
