WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., is pushing to extend the production tax credit for wind energy providers in Colorado before the end of the year.
His effort comes with a new budget proposal that was brought through the Senate earlier this week.
The tax credit extension would continue a program that provides 2.2 cents in tax credits for every kilowatt-hour produced by wind turbines.
Colorado currently has 1,526 turbines and is ranked 10th for the number of utility-scale wind turbines, according to the American Wind Energy Association.
This subsidy is what keeps the wind industry in the United States functioning and relevant, Udall said.
“It’s crucial to wind energy and our nation’s energy independence,” Udall told FOX31-TV in Denver. “If we don’t do it, these jobs are going to go overseas to China and even India.”
With 11.3 percent of Colorado’s electricity coming from the wind industry – the equivalent of more than 800,000 average Colorado homes – the subsidy program also may allow a fair chance for the renewable energy industry, said Dan Randolph, director of San Juan Citizens Alliance.
“We fully support renewable, and the government subsidizing renewable energy,” he said Friday. “I think it’s good, since the government also subsidizes fossil fuels, that they level the playing field for renewable energy.”
However, despite the importance of the credit, the legislation faced near expiration last year as well causing 600 people in Pueblo to be laid off because of uncertainty within the industry.
President Barack Obama urged the passage of the legislation last year, saying that the industry aided the Colorado economy.
“Homegrown energy (and) renewable energy (are) creating new jobs in states like Colorado and Iowa,” Obama said in a speech in Pueblo last August.
In 2012, between 4,001 and 5,000 jobs were directly or indirectly supported by the wind industry.
Suzanne Gaber is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald. Reach her at sgaber@durangoherald.com.
