[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 158 (Thursday, October 20, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6874-S6875]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. FRANKEN (for himself and Mr. Tester):
  S. 1741. A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to provide 
an investment tax credit for community wind projects having generation 
capacity of not more than 20 megawatts, and for other purposes; to the 
Committee on Finance.
  Mr. FRANKEN. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Community Wind

[[Page S6875]]

Act with my friend and colleague Senator Tester from Montana.
  Rural renewable energy development has been one of my top priorities 
since coming to the Senate. America's rural communities have some of 
our country's most abundant renewable energy resources, and I strongly 
believe that community-owned renewable energy projects are among the 
most promising drivers of economic development in our rural 
communities.
  Minnesota has a lot of wind. In the past decade, communities across 
southwestern Minnesota have been transformed by wind power, with 
turbines producing renewable energy to power homes and businesses 
across the midwest. These projects are helping Minnesota meet its 
ambitious goal of obtaining 25 percent of its electricity from 
renewable sources by 2025. As we look to develop more renewables in 
Minnesota and across the country, I want to make sure that rural 
communities are reaping the maximum benefit from these projects.
  That is why community wind is so powerful. When a wind project has 
some level of local ownership, studies have shown that the project will 
have higher local economic impact than conventional projects. That is 
because profits from the project flow to members in the community. 
Those profits are then reinvested in the community, fueling economic 
activity that wouldn't have otherwise happened.
  Like many small and distributed energy projects, community wind 
projects face unique challenges when compared to conventional wind, 
ranging from difficulties accessing financing to the inability to take 
full advantage of Federal tax benefits. Despite these barriers, 
community wind projects have devised innovative financing structures to 
move forward with projects across the country. However, like the larger 
wind industry, community wind still faces great uncertainty with the 
looming expiration of the federal production tax credit for wind at the 
end of 2012.
  Our bill provides long-term certainty to community wind over the next 
5 years by expanding the existing small wind Investment Tax Credit to 
projects with capacity up to 20 MW. There is no restriction on turbine 
size, and the bill prevents the subdivision of large wind projects to 
game the system and claim the credit.
  This bill has support from a diverse group of stakeholders, including 
the American Wind Energy Association to the National Farmers Union, the 
Minnesota Farmers Union, the Minnesota Corn Growers, the Minnesota 
Soybean Growers, a broad coalition of Minnesota and national small and 
community wind developers, and rural businesses and nonprofits across 
the country. I am proud to introduce this legislation with Senator 
Tester today, and I look forward to working with my colleagues from 
both sides of the aisle to garner support for its passage.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
printed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1741

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Community Wind Act''.

     SEC. 2. INVESTMENT TAX CREDIT FOR COMMUNITY WIND PROJECTS 
                   HAVING GENERATION CAPACITY OF NOT MORE THAN 20 
                   MEGAWATTS.

       (a) In General.--Paragraph (4) of section 48(c) of the 
     Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended--
       (1) by striking subparagraph (A) and inserting the 
     following new subparagraph:
       ``(A) In general.--The term `qualified small wind energy 
     property' means--
       ``(i) property which uses a qualifying small wind turbine 
     to generate electricity, or
       ``(ii) property which uses 1 or more wind turbines with an 
     aggregate nameplate capacity of more than 100 kilowatts but 
     not more than 20 megawatts.'', and
       (2) by redesignating subparagraph (C) as subparagraph (D) 
     and by inserting after subparagraph (B) the following new 
     subparagraph:
       ``(C) Regulations.--The Secretary shall prescribe such 
     regulations as may be appropriate to prevent improper 
     division of property to attempt to meet the limitation under 
     subparagraph (A)(ii).''.
       (b) Denial of Production Credit.--Paragraph (1) of section 
     45(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 is amended by 
     striking the period at the end and inserting ``or any 
     facility which is a qualified small wind energy property 
     described in section 48(c)(4)(A)(ii) with respect to which 
     the credit under section 48 is allowable.''.
       (c) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section 
     shall apply to property placed in service after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act.
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