Facing expiring tax credit, wind industry posts record year

By Zack Colman - 01/30/13

 The threat of an expiring wind power credit helped drive record installations of equipment and caused record wind capacity in the United States last year, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said Wednesday.   Wind accounted for 13,124 megawatts of new power in 2012, more than any other energy source, AWEA said. Most of that — 8,380 megawatts — came in the fourth quarter as Congress let the clock tick down on the wind production tax credit.

With that in mind, AWEA and wind industry supporters in Congress — largely Democrats, with some Republicans — will push for a five-year phase-out of the credit this Congress to provide some investment certainty.   While the 2.2-cent per kilowatt-hour credit expired on Dec. 31, Congress extended it another year in a “fiscal cliff” deal....To Read More.....