As promised, Senator James Lankford introduced legislation to phase out the federal energy tax credit which includes wind energy. The PTC Elimination Act would eliminate the credits by 2026. PTC stands for Production Tax Credit. It was established 23 years ago as part of the Energy Policy Act of 1992. The bill removes the credit from the tax code. It expired in December 2014, but it is routinely retroactively extended at the end of the year. To keep that from happening, removal from the tax code is necessary.
A recent two year extension of the credit is estimated to cost taxpayers $10.5 billion over the next ten years. Nearly all of the funding is attributable to the wind industry.
“The PTC was put in place to encourage new innovations and supply our country with diverse energy,” said Lankford. “I am a fan of an all-of-the-above energy strategy, and I certainly support wind as a large part of that goal. The wind industry has made major strides over the past two decades, and they have proven their industry to be efficient and self-sustainable. There is no need for the taxpayer to continue to subsidize a wind start-up tax credit.”
Lankford argues states are better equipped to offer incentives to the wind industry. Thirty seven states including Oklahoma have incentives in place. Oklahoma’s junior senator believes federal credits are redundant.
