It’s that high-drama time of year again, and we don’t mean the upcoming Black Friday sales mayhem over the Thanksgiving holidays. Nope, it’s time once again for Congress to consider extending the production tax credit for wind energy.
When the wind tax credit was created in 1992, it mirrored the long history of taxpayer support enjoyed by the fossil fuel industry. The intention was to serve the public welfare mission of Congress by fostering the development of domestic energy resources. And as a matter of fact: Congress extended the tax credit for wind as a matter of routine until the past several years, when it became the subject of fierce partisan debate.
The U.S. wind industry was pretty small potatoes in the 1990s, and if it had remained that way, you could have made a good case for dispensing with continued taxpayer support. However, in recent years wind energy technology has improved by leaps and bounds, resulting in exponential growth for the industry. The U.S. wind industry is on track to become a main underpinning of the future domestic energy platform, with costs on par with — or better than — fossil fuels, and industry advocates have the stats to back it up.
Wind energy is big business
First up is a new article from Forbes, detailing the impact of low-cost wind energy on the Texas economy.
Drawing from an analysis compiled by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Forbes contributor Peter Kelly-Detwiler described how Texas consumers are saving millions on their energy bills. The commercial sector is also saving millions on hedging against fuel price volatilities, Kelly-Detwiler reported.
With costs continuing to drop, wind energy presents millions in expected savings compared to other fuel prices.
That’s just for starters. As described by Kelly-Detwiler, the AWEA analysis also embraces social benefits. Specifically, the cuts in sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide pollution are expected to get a savings of about $652 million, $71 million and $1 billion respectively.
Kelly-Detwiler is a former VP at Exelon’s Constellation New Energy company and co-founder of the diversified energy industry consultants NorthBridge Energy Partners, so he has a good deal of perspective on the issue.
Here’s his conclusion, after providing some caveats on economic modeling:
“… at the end of the day, it appears fairly clear: The economic value of wind resources to Texas is considerable. It is a lesson other markets should be mindful of as they plan for their energy futures.”
… and it’s getting bigger
AWEA is also our source for a broader story on the U.S. wind industry’s growth nationally. In a blog post on Tuesday, AWEA noted that while casual industry followers appear to assume that China is the global leader in wind energy production, the U.S. holds that title in the measurement that counts the most: the total number of kilowatt-hours delivered to customers.
Here’s the rundown from AWEA:
“… China’s wind industry produced and delivered less than 138 billion kWh in 2013. According to the American Wind Energy Association and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration, the United States produced over 167 billion kWh, over 20 percent more than China.”
Actually, by the measurement of kilowatt hours delivered, the U.S. has led the world since 2008. Little known fact, right?
Keep in mind that the U.S. has accomplished all of this without even tapping into its considerable offshore wind energy potential, and you can see why the U.S. Department of Energy wasn’t just blowing smoke when it launched the Wind Vision Initiative last year. Wind Vision lays out a roadmap for meeting 35 percent of U.S. electricity demand with wind energy by 2050.
It’s becoming more and more difficult to make the case that wind energy is a marginal ‘special interest’ enterprise unworthy of taxpayer support, but our friends over at Americans for Prosperity are giving it the old college try, so stay tuned.
Image credit: Courtesy of AWEA
