AWEA Blog - Winnebago tribal leader calls for PTC extension

Mr. Blackhawk noted that his tribe intends to take advantage of Nebraska’s abundant winds: “An important new chapter in the history of tribal economic self-sufficiency is being written on Winnebago tribal land in Thurston County, Neb. The Winnebago Tribal Council has entered into an agreement with Bluestem Energy Solutions of Omaha to construct four to six wind turbines on tribal land that will provide enough power to supply 3,500 homes and employ several people on the reservation during construction and operation.”

Added Mr. Blackhawk, “Wind energy enjoys broad, bipartisan support in our region and across the U.S. … As Winnebagoes, we believe that when we work together, nothing can prevent us from achieving our dreams and visions to once again be self-sufficient and economically self-reliant. Wind energy can play a vital role in our future, but time is running out for Congress to stand with us in harnessing the power of wind.”

The PTC provides an income tax credit of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour for the first 10 years of electricity production from utility-scale wind turbines. It is set to expire on Dec. 31 unless Congress extends it first. A recent study by Navigant Consulting found that extending the Production Tax Credit will allow the industry to grow to 100,000 jobs in just four years, while an expiration would kill 37,000 jobs within a year.

A House bill seeking to extend the PTC has 110 cosponsors, including 25 Republicans, while a similar Senate bill is cosponsored by seven Senators, including three Republicans.  PTC extension efforts have received the endorsement of a broad coalition of more than 370 members, including the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Farm Bureau Federation, and the Western Governors’ Association. A PTC extension also has the support of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Governors Association, and the bipartisan Governors’ Wind Energy Coalition, which includes 23 Republican and Democratic Governors from across the U.S.  A PTC extension has been endorsed by a number of newspapers across the country, including the Des Moines Register, the Denver Post, the Daily Oklahoman, the Toledo Blade, the Houston Chronicle, the San Antonio Express-News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Sun-Times, and The New York Times.