U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., rode out to Berth 6 for a look at the towering steel tubes and pledged to support renewing the tax break that has powered an explosion in wind-power investment.

"It moves our country to where it needs to be in terms of energy independence," she said.

The port expects to handle this year a record 286 towers, which come in three sections each.

Asian-made wind towers imported through Longview since 2003 have been destined for wind farms as far away as Oak Ridge, Tenn., Bowling Green, Ohio, and Nova Scotia, Canada.

The towers mean revenue for the port and jobs for Longshoremen, who have handled more than 1,500 tower sections without damaging one. "These are not logs," Local 21 Longshoreman Jeff Davis said. "These definitely have to be handled with kid gloves."

In 2007, the port should handle roughly as many or even more towers than this year, said Valerie Harris, the port's business development manager.

The port may be the entryway next spring for towers destined for Klickitat County and a wind farm planned by the Cowlitz PUD and four other public utilities. "We expect to be immersed in this business next year," Harris said.

But business beyond next year may depend on whether Congress extends a law that allows investors to claim a federal income tax deduction for every bit of electricity generated by their wind farms.

The tax break expires at the end of 2007, raising fears that the wind-power boom will go bust and along with it the port's new business. "It's a promising new business," port Director Ken O'Hollaren said. "(But) there's no assurance it will be here in the long term."

Although congress has extended the tax shelter in the past, renewing it again would add, at least on paper, to the federal deficit.

Also, critics say the tax shelter distorts the marketplace, promoting wind farms regardless of whether they make economic or environmental sense.

When Congress let the tax credit temporarily lapse in 2004, the port's business dropped off but picked up again in 2005 when the credit was revived.

Murray said she believes Congress will look favorably on extending the tax credit.

"It's impossible to tell right now whether it would be permanent," she said. "My guess is, it probably will be something that's renewed annually or every two years until people feel wind power can be strong on its own."

Cowlitz PUD officials say the tax break and the private investment it attracts will make the $352 million White Creek wind farm in Klickitat County possible. The PUD is striving to finish the project before the tax credit expires.

The prospect of not finishing the project on time "is too bad to even contemplate," PUD Commissioner Buz Ketcham said.

Nevertheless, Harris, who once worked in the wind-power industry, said the port's wind-tower business might thrive even if the tax credit lapsed because more states are requiring utilities to invest in renewable energy.

The wind-power industry will get a boost in Washington if voters in November approve Initiative 937, which would force utilities, including Cowlitz PUD, to get a larger share of their electricity from non-hydro renewable energy sources.

Also, Harris said, wind-farm developers may continue ordering towers in anticipation that Congress eventually will renew the tax credit, rather than risk long waits for towers later.