One of the biggest concerns facing the renewable energy industry at this time is the status of the Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) bill.  The PTC, which is a government program providing generators of renewable energy with a tax credit of 2 cents per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated and it is set to expire at the end of this year.  The bill was first introduced in 1992 and is a major reason for the continued growth of the renewable energy industry – - a bright spot in an otherwise troubled economy.

Earlier this year the House of Representatives successfully passed a four year PTC extension proposal, but the effort has failed to gain passage in the Senate.  On April 11, the Senate attached a PTC extension to a housing assistance bill, providing hope that the PTC will soon be extended.

The PTC has been instrumental in making wind energy the second fastest growing form of new electricity generation, behind natural gas, in the United States.  Without the economic incentives provided by the PTC, the production of renewable energy generation is likely to drop substantially.  Since 1992, the PTC has been allowed to expire for one year by Congress on 3 separate occasions.  During these years, new development of renewable energy projects fell by an average of 68%.  According to a recent study by the American Wind Energy Association failure to extend the PTC would cost the economy 119,000 jobs and $19 billion in investments.

As it stands now, the PTC is set to expire on December 31st of 2008.  Members of Congress are still examining options for extending the bill and we are hopeful that resolution will be achieved but there is still much work to be done.  If you would like to tell your Congressman how you feel about the issue you may visit the American Wind Energy website to learn more and to submit a letter voicing your position at:   http://capwiz.com/windenergy/issues/alert/?alertid=11270646