[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15808]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         WIND ENERGY TAX CREDIT

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. President, I return to the floor of the 
Senate to urge all of us here to extend the production tax credit for 
wind energy. This is a crucial tax credit that supports an industry 
that employs literally tens of thousands of workers across our entire 
country. Our failure in the Congress to quickly extend this job-
creating credit has already halted further development and jeopardized 
the future of this industry and the good-paying jobs that come with it.
  The PTC, as it is known, the production tax credit, has been a major 
driver of wind power development because it literally leverages 
billions of dollars in investment, which then in turn creates thousands 
of jobs. But here in the Congress we have gone back and forth 
repeatedly between extending it and retiring it. This on-again/off-
again status has contributed to a boom-bust cycle that threatens the 
future of this industry and our energy security in turn. It is time for 
us to act, act now, and extend the PTC so the wind industry and its 
employees can have a secure and prosperous future.
  Mr. President, I look forward to talking about your State, New 
Mexico. You know I come to the floor every day to talk about the 
importance of the PTC, and I focus on an individual State when I come 
to the floor. Today I would like to talk about New Jersey.
  New Jersey's wind industry will suffer without an extension of the 
PTC. Its industry is in the early stages of development, but the Garden 
State is already making real progress in becoming a manufacturing 
center for wind. While it is a manufacturing center that is building 
the turbines and blades, it is also taking a leading role in developing 
coastal wind power and then harnessing the offshore wind potential we 
know exists in the oceans off of New Jersey. An environmental review 
initiative by the Interior Department has paved the way for the sale of 
wind energy leases off the coast of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and 
Virginia in the Outer Continental Shelf. Several coastal projects are 
under way in the Garden State, including in South Jersey off the coast 
of Cape May, down here in the southern part of New Jersey. New Jersey 
is also home to the first coastal wind farm in the United States, the 
Jersey Atlantic Wind Farm. There are five turbines at that wind farm. 
They are producing a total of 7.5 megawatts, which is enough energy to 
power 2,000 homes.
  Like my home State, like the home State of the Presiding Officer, New 
Jersey knows we need an all-of-the-above energy strategy to improve our 
energy security. My colleagues from New Jersey, Senator Menendez and 
Senator Lautenberg, have been fighting to accelerate the transition to 
renewable domestic energy. Both have been champions for extending 
crucial tax credits such as the PTC. They know these credits help both 
New Jersey consumers and New Jersey businesses install and utilize 
energy from the wind.
  The wind energy industry supports close to 500 New Jersey jobs, many 
of which are located at the 9 manufacturing facilities that make 
components for wind turbines. Those facilities are located in the green 
circles shown here on the map of New Jersey. The current level of wind 
production in New Jersey has helped the State reduce its carbon 
emissions by some 1,500 metric tons every year.
  I want to return to the point I make every day I come to the floor to 
talk about the production tax credit. If we do not extend it, the 
manufacturing sector in New Jersey and many other States will literally 
wither. If we do not extend the PTC, we risk sending our energy jobs 
overseas. This is flatout unacceptable.
  The wind production tax credit has strong support from a broad array 
of industry groups. Let me share some of those groups with my 
colleagues and with the viewers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has 
endorsed the extension, as well as the Governors' Wind Energy 
Coalition, the National Governors Association, and the American Farm 
Bureau Federation, among a number of other groups that support this 
extension.
  Think of it this way: Wind energy is made-in-America energy that 
bolsters U.S. manufacturing. It creates good-paying American jobs, and 
it puts us on the path to energy independence. I urge my colleagues, I 
ask my colleagues of both parties to stand with me and stand for 
American manufacturing and made-in-America energy. Our wind energy 
industry and our energy security are depending on it. We need to extend 
the PTC as soon as possible. It is that simple. The PTC equals jobs. 
Let's pass it as soon as possible.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Rhode Island.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.

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