[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 93 (Tuesday, June 19, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H3738-H3739]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1030
              EXTENSION OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TAX INCENTIVES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Connolly) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CONNOLLY of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, this Congress' failure to 
extend renewable energy tax credits is already costing my home State, 
the Commonwealth of Virginia, jobs. As CBS News reported last month, 
Virginia is losing a wind turbine development to Spain because the 
United States doesn't have the right policies and tax incentives in 
place for renewable energy development. A spokesperson for the wind 
energy company Gamesa said that the uncertainty over the future of 
those tax credits for wind energy and the lack of Federal energy policy 
caused the company to invest in Spain instead of Virginia. The jobs to 
construct and maintain that turbine will be Spanish, not American.
  The so-called Strategic Energy Production Act, coming to the House 
floor this week, actually perpetuates the problem by doubling down on 
oil and gas to the detriment of developing new and renewable energy 
sources in America. Even the Republican Governor of Virginia said that 
the lack of a national energy policy was one of the reasons we aren't 
moving forward with this project in America. President Obama has called 
on Congress to pass a ``clean energy standard'' that would guarantee a 
market for wind, solar, and other clean domestic energy sources. That 
legislation has not received any consideration in this House.

[[Page H3739]]

  The House Republican leadership won't even bring legislation to the 
floor to extend critical renewable tax credits for wind and solar 
energy. Republicans consider it anathema to even suggest that they 
reconsider special oil and gas company tax breaks in the face of record 
industry profits. Yet while the extension of renewable energy tax 
credits would encourage the development of an innovative industry that 
would support America's energy independence, they allow it to wither. 
In fact, House Republicans actually attacked the renewable energy 
sector through a number of different amendments to the Energy and Water 
appropriations bill earlier this month.
  As part of the Recovery Act, Congress and the President extended 
production and investment tax credits for the production of wind and 
solar energy. As a result of those investments, wind energy electricity 
generation has grown by 40,000 megawatts in the last 2 years. Between 
2007 and 2010, wind energy represented 35 percent of all new 
electricity generation in America. Solar energy production in America 
more than doubled in that time period.
  Approximately 173,000 Americans work now in the wind and solar 
industries, with 70 percent growth in the number of wind energy jobs 
since 2007. What other industry can we point to that has seen that kind 
of significant job growth? In fact, the growth in renewable energy jobs 
has helped offset job losses in the coal industry, which has been 
declining for many years. As the Nation continues to recover, and as 
monthly job growth moderates, it is essential to support innovative 
American industries, such as wind and solar, with extensive growth 
potential.
  Wind and solar electricity generation creates American jobs 
throughout the supply chain. For example, Micron is a semiconductor 
manufacturer in my district whose components are used in solar 
installations. The value of solar installations completed in 2011 was 
$8.4 billion. Thanks to Buy American provisions and other domestic 
manufacturing programs in the Recovery Act, we're increasing the share 
of wind energy components manufactured in America. Over 470 factories 
in the United States now build components for wind turbines. But as tax 
incentives expire, where will that future growth go?
  In the global hunt for scarce resources, the renewable energy 
industry will not just be a job creator, though it will create jobs. It 
will also help support national security. If America is not at the 
forefront of this burgeoning field, then we will be left behind as 
global competitors seize that initiative.
  Unfortunately, all of this economic growth is at risk as the 
Republican House leadership ignores renewable energy tax credit 
extensions. Failure to extend the production and investment tax credits 
for renewable energy will mean losing projects across the country. As 
our loss of a wind facility in Virginia demonstrates, Mr. Speaker, the 
failure to extend these tax credits in a timely manner already is 
hurting what would otherwise continue to be a growth industry.

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