04.29.21

Hoeven, Cramer Help Introduce Legislation to Eliminate Wind Tax Credit

WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer this week helped introduce legislation, led by Senator James Lankford (R-Okla.) and joined by Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), to completely phase out the federal production tax credit (PTC) for renewable energy sources, like wind. The bill specifies that any new projects would need to begin construction by the end of this year in order to qualify for the credit, as is the case under current law. The senators introduced similar legislation in the 116th Congress.

“As recent severe weather has clearly demonstrated, we need reliable baseload power sources that are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are able to keep operating when power is needed most,” said Senator Hoeven. “The wind industry is now commercially-viable, and the continued extension of the wind PTC further distorts energy markets away from critically-needed baseload power, like coal. That’s why we reached a bipartisan agreement in 2015 to phase out and end this tax credit, and our efforts are about ensuring Congress follows through on this commitment.”

“The wind production tax credit is fundamentally unfair and has long outlived its expiration date,” said Senator Cramer. “Our bill would help level the energy market by forcing this disruptive tax credit to finally expire.”

This comes as part of Hoeven and Cramer’s efforts to end extensions of the PTC, including:

  • Filing an amendment to strike a one-year extension of the wind PTC from year-end legislation passed by Congress in December.
  • Urging the Office of Management and Budget under the Trump administration to include a sunset of the wind PTC in its rescissions list sent to Congress, after the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 was signed into law. 

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