[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Pages 17075-17076]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         WIND ENERGY TAX CREDIT

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. President, I am pleased to join my 
colleague, the Senator from Colorado--my cousin, but he is more like a 
brother--to highlight the importance of clean energy, renewable energy. 
The Senator just spoke a little bit earlier about renewable energy, 
clean energy, and wind energy. I wish to express my support for the 
extension of the wind production tax credit.
  Mark Udall, he knows well--as do I--how important this is. I wish to 
commend him for his efforts on the floor--and his persistent efforts--
to try to get this done. I came to the Chamber to discuss wind 
incentives earlier this year. I urged then and I urge now an immediate 
extension. We need this before the end of the year. We need to provide 
certainty for wind projects and employees.
  But here we are again. We have not gotten it done yet. We are going 
to have to keep working. As the Presiding Officer and the Senator from 
California know, we work on the floor, we work off the floor, we are 
working behind the scenes to try to get this done. We need to get this 
extension.
  This vital tax credit for wind is set to expire in 18 short days. 
That would be a huge mistake to let it expire. Many projects would be 
delayed, thousands of jobs would be lost. Clean energy jobs have been a 
bright spot in our economy. We have seen wind energy capacity in 
America grow to the equivalent of 75 large powerplants. It is still 
growing. We added the equivalent of 106 large powerplants' worth of 
wind power in 2011. We see this on this chart. We are going to add even 
more this year.
  This chart shows some interesting facts about wind power in New 
Mexico. We already have enough wind power installed in New Mexico to 
power 200,000 homes. We have 20 times more capacity in the planning 
stages. Then look at this projection: New Mexico has wind potential 
power 75 times more than the State's electricity need, with the right 
transmission lines--and I think this is something we also want to work 
on together--getting a good grid in place, a smart grid, and getting 
the areas of the country hooked up that have wind energy to be able to 
move it around. With the right transmission lines, New Mexico is set to 
become a major wind power exporter.
  Wind power already supports 500 jobs in New Mexico. Wind farms mean 
payments for farmers and ranchers in New Mexico during times of 
drought. They mean a local tax base support for rural schools. They 
mean a brighter future for our economy. We are seeing real growth, real 
potential. But progress depends, in part, on us continuing the support 
for this tax credit. The tax credit has been extended seven times by 
Presidents and Congresses of both parties. It was enacted under a 
Democratic Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush. 
It was extended in 1999 by a Republican Congress and signed by 
President Clinton. In 2005, it was extended under President George W. 
Bush as a part of the bipartisan energy legislation drafted by Senator 
Bingaman and Senator Domenici of New Mexico.

[[Page 17076]]

  I do wish to say we are going to miss Senator Jeff Bingaman, our 
chairman on the Energy Committee. He has done a remarkable job of 
putting clean energy at the front and center of our agenda. Then this 
tax credit was most recently extended in 2009 as part of President 
Obama's Recovery Act. So renewable energy has enjoyed longstanding 
bipartisan support, and the wind tax credit has been a great success.
  The cost of wind power has fallen dramatically, as the Presiding 
Officer knows. It has fallen dramatically over the years. For example, 
GE's wind power costs have dropped from 15 cents per kilowatt hour to 
near 5 cents in the last 10 years. Wind is becoming cost competitive 
with fossil fuels. On some days, it is the cheapest electricity 
available. Let me repeat that because that is important because we hear 
arguments out there that this is expensive. But on some days, it is the 
cheapest electricity available.
  The Department of Energy estimates we could receive 20 percent of our 
electric power from wind alone by 2030. But we need to stay the course 
and support a policy with proven benefits. We will not need this 
incentive forever, but we should not eliminate it overnight. Wind 
resources are widely available in the West, the Midwest, and often 
offshore.
  Support of the wind tax credit is diverse. Wind power benefits a wide 
variety of Americans: farmers and ranchers who lease their land, tax 
revenues for rural school districts, iron workers, steel workers and 
engineers and everyone who wants to breathe clean air. Other 
countries--China, India, Japan, and Germany--see these benefits too. 
They also want the job growth. They also want the energy security. They 
are acting aggressively to take leadership of the clean energy economy.
  Our workers and entrepreneurs can compete with anyone on a level 
playing field. But the Congress is tying one hand behind their backs by 
leaving important incentives such as this in jeopardy. Let us continue 
the bipartisan support for the wind tax credit. Let us work together 
and get the job done for our economy, for our energy independence. Let 
us continue to invest in clean energy.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. KOHL. 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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