[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 82 (Thursday, May 29, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E864-E865]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      INTRODUCTION OF THE RURAL WIND ENERGY EXPANSION ACT OF 2014

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 29, 2014

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, today, I am introducing the ``Rural Wind 
Energy Development Act,'' to provide an investment tax credit to 
ranchers, farmers, and small businesses to offset the up-front costs of 
owning a distributed wind turbine. I am pleased to again be working 
with my friend Congressman Cole of Oklahoma in offering this modest 
expansion of current law that will keep small business energy jobs 
growing across the United States.
  Distributed wind systems are electric generators that produce up to 
20 megawatts of clean and renewable energy for homes, farms, and small 
businesses. With these turbines, individuals can generate their own 
power, often independent from the electric grid. These wind turbines 
allow farmers, ranchers, and other consumers to cut their energy bills 
and, at times, sell power back into the grid. They also allow thousands 
of businesses--from ``mom and pop'' stores, to retailers, to ranches, 
and to breweries--to reduce their energy load, to help clean the 
environment, and to save money. All you need is pretty good wind and a 
little land.
  At best there has been unsteady federal support for distributed wind 
systems and there has been no federal tax support until the past 
several years.
  In many cases, this is not only American produced electricity, but 
American manufactured electricity as well. Approximately 90 percent of 
distributed wind turbines sold in the U.S. are made here, according to 
domestic manufacturing content.
  My bill also supports locally owned, or ``community,'' wind power. 
The Department of Energy's national laboratories estimate that 
community wind generates a strong economic multiplier for local 
communities, helping rural areas rebound from challenging economic 
times.
  The federal Production Tax Credit, PTC, applies mainly to large 
utility-scale wind projects, not to individuals who install their own 
wind systems for on-site power. The existing investment credit, which 
may be taken in lieu of the PTC, has worked very well. My legislation 
provides an additional option and bars taking a double-benefit from 
these tax supports. This additional tool will provide stability and 
certainty for the distributed wind market to unlock the necessary 
investment to grow our global leadership role in distributed wind 
power. It will also help farmers, consumers, and businesses afford 
pollution-free energy.
  This legislation strikes the existing 100 kilowatt nameplate 
limitation for small wind systems, and expands the maximum wind turbine 
size to 20 megawatts, in line with the Federal Energy Regulatory 
Commission definition of distributed wind power. Other agencies depend 
on this figure as a cut off between smaller-scale or ``community'' wind 
power and larger wind farms. There is no similar cap for solar, and, as 
the community wind industry grows and produces jobs, so should the 
opportunity for projects that still meet the threshold for distributed 
wind.

[[Page E865]]

  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this important policy 
to promote wind power, which produces no harmful greenhouse gas 
emissions, involves no environmentally damaging natural resource 
extraction, and is made right here in America.

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