The last-minute tax deal brokered by U.S. lawmakers to avert the so-called “fiscal cliff” included a one-year extension of the wind energy tax credit, a subsidy that industry officials say is critical for the growth of the wind energy sector. The bill, which now awaits President Obama’s signature, preserves the 2.2-cents-per-kilowatt-hour credit for all wind energy projects that begin construction in 2013, allowing projects that are not completed until 2014 to qualify, as well. While the wind energy sector achieved record growth in 2012 — accounting for 44 percent of all new electricity generating capacity in the U.S. — industry leaders say the possible expiration of the tax credit forced some turbine manufacturers to idle factories and lay off workers during the latter half of 2012. The lack of a long-term federal policy has created “a ‘boom-bust’ cycle” in the wind energy sector for more than a decade, according to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), a trade organization.
U.S. Wind Tax Credit Extended in ‘Fiscal Cliff’ Compromise
More From E360
-
INTERVIEW
At 11,500 Feet, a ‘Climate Fast’ to Save the Melting Himalaya
-
Oceans
Octopuses Are Highly Intelligent. Should They Be Farmed for Food?
-
Climate
Nations Are Undercounting Emissions, Putting UN Goals at Risk
-
Solutions
As Carbon Air Capture Ramps Up, Major Hurdles Remain
-
ANALYSIS
How China Became the World’s Leader on Renewable Energy
-
Biodiversity
As Flooding Increases on the Mississippi, Forests Are Drowning
-
Climate
In Mongolia, a Killer Winter Is Ravaging Herds and a Way of Life
-
Energy
In Rush for Lithium, Miners Turn to the Oil Fields of Arkansas
-
Food & Agriculture
How a Solar Revolution in Farming Is Depleting World’s Groundwater
-
INTERVIEW
What Will It Take to Save Our Cities from a Scorching Future?
-
Climate
Rain Comes to the Arctic, With a Cascade of Troubling Changes
-
Health
Plastics Reckoning: PVC Is Ubiquitous, But Maybe Not for Long