Tell Congress to Renew Wind and Solar Tax Credits
The Opportunity
The renewal of tax credits for wind and solar has become a real possibility as Congressional leaders will vote this week to approve a deal on spending and tax credits before leaving the capital for holiday recess.
The Need
The solar investment tax credit and the wind production tax credit have helped to spur unprecedented job growth and significant investments in clean energy. An expiration of these tax credits would mean a painful contraction of both industries, at a time when the action to mitigate climate change – and the nation’s economic health – can ill afford a major setback.
More information regarding the tax credits can be found below the petition on this page.
Take Action
The solar investment tax credit and the wind production tax credit that Clean Energy Action and allies supported were both extended as part of a broad deal on tax credits and spending. The solar and wind tax credits are expected to increase wind and solar installations by 39 GW over the next 5 years.
More Information on the Solar Investment Tax Credit
The investment tax credit provides a 30% tax credit on the total cost of residential, commercial and utility-scale solar installations. It provides individuals or businesses involved with a solar project a dollar-for-dollar reduction in income taxes. The U.S. Solar Energy Industries Association has a wealth of information on the success of the solar investment tax credit (ITC), including these highlights:
In the last 4 years, solar employment has nearly doubled (it’s up 86%)
Solar installations have increased 1600% since the ITC was implemented in 2006
A 5 year renewal of the ITC is projected to add 95 GW of solar energy to the U.S. grid.
More Information on the Wind Production Tax Credit
The production tax credit (PTC) is a performance-based tax incentive providing $.023 for each kilowatt hour generated by wind energy. The PTC illustrates the need for a long-term extension for both tax policies: when Congress failed to renew the PTC in 2013, wind installations fell 92% and 30,000 workers lost their jobs. Furthermore, the wind PTC has been renewed for 1 or 2 year periods, leading to a lack of long-term visibility for the wind industry. Still, the PTC has been instrumental in providing huge benefits to our economy and our environment. According to the American Wind Energy Association’s site, the PTC delivered enormous growth in wind energy and savings for consumers:
Nearly 30% of new generating capacity in the last 5 years has come from wind
Wind now accounts for 4.4% of U.S. electricity
Wind has saved consumers billions of dollars in fuel costs, including $2 billion in savings over 2 days in 2014’s as the “Polar Vortex” disrupted natural gas supplies in the Midwest
For more information on the PTC, visit the American Wind Energy Association’s website.