[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 88 (Tuesday, June 12, 2012)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3934-S3935]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Wind Power's Future

  I rise to talk about a very important issue for the economies of both 
my State and the entire Nation. That is the future of the wind power 
industry in the United States and a future that is at risk, I might 
add, if Congress does not extend the production tax credit for wind. 
Such inaction jeopardizes U.S. jobs and threatens what is a real bright 
spot for American manufacturing. Such inaction is not acceptable to the 
people in my home State of Colorado, nor, I believe, to Americans more 
broadly.
  Many of us know--I think all my colleagues know--that we have seen 
the wind industry grow by leaps and bounds over the last few years. 
According to the Wind Energy Industry Association, the industry has 
attracted an average of over $15 billion annually from 2001 to 2011 in 
private investment in our wind sector in the United States.
  In 2009, that figure was $20 billion, when 10,000 megawatts, the 
highest annual total to date of wind, was installed. Seventy-five 
thousand hard-working Americans find good-paying jobs in the wind 
sector. There are 6,000 of those jobs in Colorado. So I am not 
unbiased, but when we look around the country, nobody should be 
unbiased.
  Those jobs also have a positive ripple effect on all these 
communities where they are based. In just over the last 4 years, wind 
represented 35 percent of all new power capacity in our country, second 
only to natural gas. With technology advances, wind turbines are now 
generating 30 percent more electricity per turbine, which means they 
are producing more energy while driving down cost.
  This also means all Americans from the Great Plains to the eastern 
shores have access to more affordable, reliable, and secure clean 
energy. That is a win-win. It is little wonder our constituents are 
demanding we extend the wind production tax credit. I wish to say this 
industry and the good news that is coming out of it could not have come 
at a better time for our manufacturing base, which has seen 
relentlessly tough times over the last few years.
  The wind industry is cutting against the grain. It is creating 
manufacturing jobs at a time when many companies are outsourcing jobs. 
This chart gives a great picture of what has been happening all over 
the country. We see every sector of the country where we have wind 
manufacturing jobs.
  At the end of last year, the wind industry included almost 500 
manufacturing facilities that employ 30,000 people spanning 43 States. 
We have wind projects in a vast majority of States--38 out of 50. Last 
year alone over 100 different wind projects were installed--ranging 
from a single turbine to over 4,000-megawatt capacity plants.
  Back in 2005--7 years ago--we had only five wind turbine 
manufacturers. But with steady and consistent growth and government 
policy support and certainty, the number of domestic and international 
manufacturers grew to 23 at the end of 2011. That is a key factor, the 
certainty that has been provided that will help this industry continue 
to grow jobs.
  At a time when our economy is still coming back after the 2008 
recession, and we are facing stiff competition from other countries, 
the wind industry is a dynamic example for how we can grow 
manufacturing jobs and investment in our country. When I started, I 
mentioned the wind production tax credit, the PTC. It has been a key 
factor in this growth, central to this young industry--and it is still 
a very young industry--and its success in America by helping make wind 
energy more economical, which is still being commercialized.
  This critical tax credit expires at the end of this year. Unless we 
act now in this Congress to extend the wind production tax credit, we 
risk losing this industry as well as the jobs, the investment and 
manufacturing base it creates, to our competitors in China, in Europe, 
and other countries. That is the last result we need in our economy.
  I have come to the floor to urge the Congress to keep our country an 
open marketplace for innovative energy industries and for new 
investments. The United States is on the cutting edge of renewable 
energy technologies and on a path to further secure our energy 
independence. We have to maintain that momentum by passing an extension 
of the wind production tax credit.
  In fact, it is so important--this extension--that I am planning to 
come to the Senate floor every morning until we get our act together 
and extend the PTC--not just for Colorado but for every State in our 
country. I plan to talk about the importance of wind energy in a 
different State every time I come to the floor. I look forward to 
talking about the State of the Presiding Officer, the State of 
Delaware.
  I hear every day from Coloradoans who are incredulous that we have 
not acted to extend this commonsense tax credit. We need to be reminded 
that American jobs are at stake if we fail to act.
  Simply put, if we don't extend the PTC as soon as possible, the wind 
industry will shrink significantly in 2013. Estimates are that we can 
lose almost half of the wind-supported jobs, down from 78,000 in 2012 
to 41,000 in 2013.
  If we fail to extend this tax credit, total wind investment is 
projected to drop by nearly two-thirds, from $15.6 billion in 2012 to 
$5.5 billion in 2013. That is simply unacceptable. Luckily, I am not 
alone in this effort. There is strong bipartisan support in the Senate 
for the extension of this tax credit. Yes, this is one of those 
occasions where we are talking about legislation that is supported by 
Members of both parties.
  Senator Grassley, a Republican Senator from Iowa--along with myself 
and seven other Democrats and Republicans--introduced a bill earlier 
this year to extend the tax credit. Senator Jerry Moran, a Republican 
Senator from Kansas, and I led 12 Members from across the country and 
both sides of the aisle in urging our Senate leadership to work with us 
to extend the PTC as soon as possible.
  We have not seen that happen yet, Mr. President. Instead of 
addressing this bipartisan proposal which has been

[[Page S3935]]

a proven job creator, Congress has been caught up in partisan fights. 
Let's do what Americans are demanding. Let's work together to create 
jobs and strengthen our economy, as well as our energy security. Let's 
pass the PTC as soon as possible--ASAP.
  I will be back tomorrow, and I will talk more specifically about the 
importance of the PTC to my home State of Colorado. We are home to 
thousands of renewable energy jobs, including high-paying manufacturing 
ones. But that could change literally overnight if the PTC is not 
extended.
  For the good of our economy, I ask all of my colleagues from both 
sides of the aisle to work with me. Let's work together to get the PTC 
extended.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Nebraska.