[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 101 (Monday, July 9, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1208-E1209]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          EXTENSION OF THE FEDERAL WIND PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, July 9, 2012

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the City of North 
Saint Paul's Mayor Mike Kuehn for hosting the federal Wind Energy 
Production Tax Credit Press Conference on July 2, 2012. The press 
conference brought together business leaders from Minnesota's wind 
sector. The Wind Energy Production Tax Credit supports clean energy 
developers, manufacturers, and construction companies in Minnesota and 
across the country. I am submitting for the Congressional Record four 
Minnesota business leaders' comments on the need for passage of the 
federal wind energy production tax credit.

               Statement by Ms. Shanelle Montan of enXco

       It is a pleasure to be here and I would like to thank 
     Congressman Ellison and Congresswoman McCollum for being here 
     and supporting the PTC. I grew up on a farm in rural 
     Minnesota and have seen first-hand the economic effect of the 
     wind industry in rural Minnesota. It is my pleasure to work 
     for enXco and to work in an industry that has done so much 
     for communities across Minnesota.
       enXco have developed projects in Minnesota for more than a 
     decade. Thus far we have 900 MWs of wind energy from western 
     to eastern Minnesota. Additionally, we have hundreds more MWs 
     in development in the state. As many of the presenters stated

[[Page E1209]]

     today, wind does not happen overnight. Bringing a wind 
     project to fruition requires meticulous studies, surveys, 
     permitting, and other development activities. The careful 
     placement and development of wind can take years.
       We are proud that our projects have boosted the economies 
     of small towns and rural communities across the state. 
     Landowner payments and additional tax revenue for communities 
     provides funding for new roads, schools, and other 
     infrastructure across the community. Farming is sporadic. 
     Today crop prices are high, however, we do not know what 
     prices will be tomorrow. A sustainable income for farmers 
     means more investment in equipment, technology, and the 
     family farm.
       Without the PTC extension our pipeline of projects will be 
     at risk. Hundreds of MWs of wind development will be stalled. 
     This lapse will interfere with permitting, interconnection, 
     and other development activities. Developers in Minnesota 
     need a stable market. We look forward to further development 
     across the state. With an extension of the PTC we will be 
     able to ensure the livelihood of rural communities and 
     increase Minnesota leadership within the wind industry.

              Statement by Mr. Mark Ahlstrom of WindLogics

       Wind farms are power plants that use wind as their fuel, so 
     careful analysis is needed to find good locations and 
     understand the wind patterns. WindLogics is a Saint Paul 
     company with 52 people here in Minnesota and we provide these 
     weather analysis services to project developers throughout 
     the country. We were bigger. Because it takes time to collect 
     and analyze the weather data to create good projects, we felt 
     the impact of the Production Tax Credit expiration more than 
     nine months ago and had to reduce our staff by 10 people.
       It takes 18 months to plan and build a wind project even 
     under the best of circumstances, and companies cannot plan 
     and finance wind projects with uncertainty around the tax 
     credit. So because we work early in the project development 
     cycle, what we saw last fall was that project planning for 
     2013 essentially stopped.
       This is a terrible shame because we have clients who want 
     to invest billions of dollars in new wind projects. The 
     industry has scaled up to the point where it can contribute 
     $20 billion a year in private investment to the U.S. economy, 
     with U.S. manufacturing and jobs, but this is on hold until 
     the Production Tax Credit is renewed. New projects can't just 
     stop and start instantly, so any delay on renewing the tax 
     credit just puts us that much further behind.
       Wind energy is a great business that I love, and I want 
     WindLogics to get back to helping people build new projects. 
     We need a prompt renewal of the Production Tax Credit to make 
     that happen.

 Statement by Mr. Tim Maag of Mortenson Construction's Renewable Energy

       I'll echo the others in emphasizing the importance of this 
     PTC extension. Due to the undeniable success of the PTC, 
     businesses like Mortenson have been able to provide stable 
     jobs for American families.
       Mortenson Construction is a Minneapolis-based, family-owned 
     construction company, with over 2,200 full time employees. 
     Mortenson has offices in Chicago, Denver, Milwaukee, 
     Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Seattle with international 
     operations in Canada and China. Ranked as the 19th largest 
     contractor in America, according to Engineering News-Record, 
     a large portion of Mortenson's business is generated from the 
     wind industry--nearly 30% of the company's annual revenue. 
     Over 800 craft workers and 350 salaried professionals work in 
     Mortenson's Renewable Energy groups and are focused on 
     constructing renewable energy and transmission & distribution 
     projects. The PTC has contributed greatly to our 
     organization's positive growth in the renewable energy 
     sector.
       In 1995 Mortenson constructed our first wind project in 
     Adair, IA, and have constructed over 120 wind projects across 
     North America to date. We've witnessed technology 
     advancements over the past seven years, driven by the PTC, 
     that have helped to make wind energy more affordable and 
     projects more cost competitive. Our construction projects 
     have grown from a handful of turbines to large, multi-phase 
     projects spanning hundreds of square miles.
       Right now, Mortenson is building 18 wind projects in 10 
     states, all scheduled to complete before the end of 2012. 
     Each project constructed in the US bolsters our country's 
     larger economy while playing a vital role in sustaining 
     smaller local economies across America. We've seen firsthand 
     the significant and revitalizing impact on rural communities 
     surrounding wind projects. Over the construction period, jobs 
     are made available to the local labor force, major 
     construction contracts are awarded to local businesses and 
     suppliers, while fabrication, maintenance, and repair shops 
     all see increasingly positive economic impacts due to the 
     wind project. Throughout the life of a project, more than 
     $500,000 may be infused into an area's hotels, restaurants, 
     and living facilities due to construction traveler spending 
     alone.
       While Mortenson maintains an aggressive and busy 2012, 
     those here who have spoken before me, are the leading 
     indicators for the likelihood of future project construction. 
     Due to the lack of a PTC extension, we're seeing a decline in 
     turbine orders and hesitation to develop projects. Mortenson 
     is uncertain of the number of US wind farms we will construct 
     in 2013. This will impact the livelihood of hundreds of 
     employees, subcontractors and other industry partners across 
     the country.
       The uncertainty surrounding the PTC extension threatens the 
     success of and further development of the wind industry, and 
     thereby the American economy. Because of the long-term nature 
     of the planning and permitting process, short-term extensions 
     of PTC are insufficient for sustaining consistent, long term 
     growth of the industry. In conjunction with those here today, 
     we implore our legislators to reinstate the PTC. A long-term 
     (2-4 year) extension is crucial to averting the damaging 
     impact to America's labor force and the long-term growth of 
     our industry, which holds so much promise to our future 
     generations.

          Statement by Mr. Doug Fredrickson of Blattner Energy

       Blattner has been in the wind industry for 15 years. We 
     have seen the PTC expire before. But there is so much more at 
     stake now than earlier.
       There are 500 US manufacturing facilities building 
     components for the wind industry. Once those facilities 
     close, a stable enough wind industry environment may never 
     exist for them to be recaptured. They will be outsourced 
     again overseas. Construction may be an industry that has 
     little fear from job loss due to ``outsourcing''. But you can 
     still lose your job and that's why we're today. The PTC is 
     going to expire and with it tens of thousands of good jobs 
     will be lost. Blattner Energy is a 105 year old Minnesota 
     construction company. We worked on our first wind farm at 
     Lake Benton, Minnesota in 1997. We were significantly smaller 
     than. But that first opportunity positioned us to grow with 
     the wind industry nationwide. Today Blattner and Mortenson 
     are the two largest builders of wind farms in North America.
       At Blattner we employ approximately 1,500 people directly 
     in wind and more through our subcontractors and suppliers. Of 
     course our role in a wind project is the last one. 
     Consequently, our employees will be busy right up until 
     December 31 of this year. But as was mentioned earlier, new 
     wind work in 2013 is unlikely and reduction will have to 
     occur.
       Blattner has been in the wind industry for 15 years. We 
     have seen the FTC expire before. But there is so much more at 
     stake now than earlier. There are 500 US manufacturing 
     facilities building components for the wind industry. Once 
     those facilities close, a stable enough wind industry 
     environment may never exist for them to be recaptured. They 
     will be outsourced again overseas. Those jobs are beginning 
     to diminish right now because there is no positive signal 
     that a stable tax policy will be in place in the future. We 
     ask Congress to continue its bi-partisan support for the FTC. 
     Keep people working and extend the FTC now before your 
     recess.

                          ____________________