Production Tax Credit Stalls in Senate
The Senate Tuesday failed to pass an amendment to the transportation bill that would have extended the Production Wind Tax Credit which is set to expire at the end of this year. The vote was mostly on partisan lines.
Staff-Updated
Colorado Senator Michael Bennet said the state stands “to suffer a huge economic blow if Congress can’t get its act together and extend this critical tax credit.
The amendment that failed Tuesday also included tax credits for energy-efficient homes, biofuels and other initiatives; but, because there wasn’t a way to pay for them included in the proposal, it struggled to win broader support — and the 60 votes needed to pass it.
Senators Bennet and Mark Udall will be looking for the next legislative vehicle for the next opportunity to attach the wind energy tax credit to legislation that will allow another vote and, they hope, a different result.
“Without this tax credit, the industry will crash,” Udall said Tuesday. “In fact, a crash is already beginning. Vestas may lay off more than 80 percent of its workforce in Colorado if the PTC is not extended soon. I’m fighting every day for this extension, and we need to do it now.
“This isn’t something we can afford to put on the backburner until the last minute.”
Filed Under: ARCHIVES • Feature Articles
Tags: Colorado wind industry • Production Tax Credit • Senator Mark Udall • Senator Michael Bennett • Vestas Wind Systems
Clean Energy Collective is now based in Boulder Colorado. 
Though a small step and almost over 16 years into the die-off of our forests, this effort should be applauded ...
The best ballot initiative is one that will ban initiatives. Otherwise what is the point of electing legislators. 
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Tri-State Board Policy 117 limits member co-op generation to 5%.
LPEA has asked them to lift that for community solar gardens.
https://www.lpea.coop/pdf/board_meeting/resolutions/2012/201213_tristate_policy_117.pdf 
To see this exciting change as "scary" seems incredibly short-sited to me. Between the increasing power demands caused by ...