PTC backers, foes slug it out as cliff talks continue

Opponents of an expiring wind energy tax break are urging lawmakers to vote against its extension and arguing the phaseout of the credit floated by an industry trade group would carry an exorbitant price tag, as wind supporters in Congress and the Obama administration continue to argue that an extension to the credit is vital to protect jobs. The back-and-forth fight over whether to extend the wind production tax credit beyond its scheduled end-of-the-year expiration continued to simmer in the background of the larger debate over the looming “fiscal cliff.” The credit is seen as a likely candidate for inclusion in a larger deal, and advocates and opponents yesterday continued to lay out their arguments for and against it. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), a leading advocate for extending the credit, appeared yesterday at a forum with Energy Secretary Steven Chu, where the pair argued that extending the PTC was necessary to maintain jobs in the industry, especially among domestic manufacturers that have increased their supply of wind turbine components in the recent years that the credit has been in place. [ read more … ]

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As deadline looms, industry pushes action on PTC extension in new Web campaign

AWEA says Congress should extend the credit as part of a package to address the looming “fiscal cliff” of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts.

“It’s down to the wire on wind, and Congress has a choice. If they do nothing, the wind industry will fall over its own fiscal cliff and America will lose most of its wind installations next year,” said Rob Gramlich, senior vice president for public policy at AWEA, in a statement. [ read more … ]

OPINION: Don’t tie tax extenders bill to fiscal cliff

Lost among the fiscal cliff debates on marginal tax rates and the sequester is a bipartisan package of important tax cuts that the House and the Senate should take up and pass immediately, regardless of whether Democrats and Republicans can reach a larger compromise. I refer to a package of tax cuts passed earlier this year by the Senate Finance Committee, commonly referred to as the “tax extenders package,” which I feel has not received the attention it deserves as a major component of the fiscal cliff. While I hope the negotiations to avert the fiscal cliff are successful, we should not wait for a “grand bargain” to materialize before we finish our work on tax extenders. Tax extenders are different from the other fiscal cliff issues. [ read more … ]