www.windaction.org | Tax Breaks & Subsidies

Winds of uncertainty still blowing through Texas turbines
January 26, 2013 by Bill Hanna in Fort Worth Star-Telegram

"The PTC [production tax credit] is helping projects that are ready to go, that are shovel-ready, but the thing that is hurting the industry is really low gas prices that make it fairly hard to obtain financing," said Jimmy Horn of Horn Wind Energy.

Also filed under [ Texas]

County Commissioners Say: Windpark's tax payment half of what was expected
January 25, 2013 by Donna Jordan in The Colebrook Chronicle

A disagreement has broken out between the Coos County Commissioners and Brookfield Power-which owns the Granite Reliable Windpark--over what was expected for that payment. The County was expecting a payment of $495,000, while the windpark only submitted $249,175.

Also filed under [ New Hampshire]

AWEA reveals insight into wind energy PTC implementation rules
January 25, 2013 by Laura DiMugno in North American Windpower

Under the old PTC rules, beginning construction meant starting work "of a significant nature," which could include steps like building access roads and foundations. ...However, the previous guidance was less clear about whether construction had to be continuous in order for the project to qualify for the PTC. ...the same changes were not made to the requirements for bonus depreciation.

Also filed under [ USA]

Wind farm owner and Coos County wrangle over payments
January 24, 2013 by Chris Jensen in New Hampshire Public Radio

In 2008 three Coos County Commissioners approved a deal under which - instead of taxes - the county expected to get payments of about $495,000 each year for a decade. But now Brookfield says it only owes the county half of that, says Jennifer Fish, the Coos County Administrator.

Also filed under [ Impact on Economy| New Hampshire]

Despite dawn of a new term, forecast cloudy for energy and enviro issues
January 22, 2013 by Nick Juliano, Jean Chemnick and Phil Taylor in E&E News

Fresh off their successful push to extend a key tax break in the PTC, wind industry lobbyists are beginning to prepare for the tax reform fight. But the push for some longer-term certainty will proceed without at least one key ally in Congress. Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.) says the one-year extension and expansion of the PTC that were included in this month's "fiscal cliff" legislation should be sufficient for the industry.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| USA]

Sting operations reveal Mafia involvement in renewable energy
January 22, 2013 by Anthony Faiola in The Washington Post

The still-emerging links of the mafia to the once-booming wind and solar sector here are raising fresh questions about the use of government subsidies to fuel a shift toward cleaner energies, with critics claiming huge state incentives created excessive profits for companies and a market bubble ripe for fraud. China-based Suntech said it would need to restate more than two years of financial results because of allegedly fake capital put up to finance new plants in Italy.

Wind power still in limbo despite renewed tax break
January 21, 2013 by Kyung M. Song in Seattle Times

But the public subsidies alone likely won't be enough to propel more than a dozen proposed wind farms in Washington to quickly start spinning their giant blades. Cheaper natural gas, environmental concerns and plentiful renewable-energy sources for utilities are among a confluence of factors that have taken much wind out of new turbines' sails.

Also filed under [ USA]

Treasury, IRS preparing guidance to clarify renewable credit eligibility
January 17, 2013 by Nick Juliano in E&E News

The timing of the guidance on the new eligibility requirements for the production tax cut remains unclear. Treasury and IRS need to determine how exactly to define when wind and other renewable energy developers can claim the credit after Congress approved a change to its eligibility requirements.

Also filed under [ USA]

US taxpayers giving $4B to foreign firms for green energy projects, study says
January 16, 2013 in Fox News

U.S. taxpayers have forked over nearly $4 billion to foreign-owned companies as part of a stimulus program that pays cash grants to green-energy firms ..."Billions of dollars have filled the coffers of overseas firms while the evidence of the promised permanent jobs and economic growth here in the United States is scarce," the report said.

Also filed under [ USA]

Calif.'s renewable energy rules created a boom, and now also a bust
January 15, 2013 by Anne C. Mulkern in E&E News

They'll reach that target with energy already under contract, creating a bust for developers that were hoping for continued growth, experts said at the American Wind Energy Association's (AWEA) regional summit. ..."For you as developers, the bad news of California being incredibly successful is that we really don't need a lot of contracts right now."

Also filed under [ California]

Lawmaker looks to broader reform debate to pass bill eliminating energy credits
January 15, 2013 by Nick Juliano and Manuel Quinones in E&E News

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.) yesterday reintroduced legislation aimed at eliminating tax credits for energy producers and suggested he could support broadening the scope of his effort to also target other incentives, such as deductions enjoyed by the oil and gas industry, in an effort to attract bipartisan support to eliminate all energy-related favors as part of a broader tax reform push.

Also filed under [ USA]

Lawsuit: Obama steered tens of millions to green energy cronies
January 11, 2013 in Bloomberg News

"Defendants used the ATVM loan program as nothing more than a veil to steer hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to government cronies," according to the district court complaint. Today's lawsuits are the latest challenge to clean-energy loan programs administered by the Energy Department, which has come under scrutiny over a $535 million loan guarantee to now-bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| USA]

Challenges ahead for wind power developers
January 9, 2013 by Kate Galbraith in New York Times

In the United States, some wind power developers are beginning to focus on wind farms in other countries. They are frustrated by the wrangling over the U.S. tax credit, which will undoubtedly flare up again by next autumn because the tax credit is due to expire at the end of this year. Wind developers in the United States have also been stymied by the falling price of electricity.

Also filed under [ USA]

Xcel Energy clarifies wind energy position after lobbyist implies doubt
January 8, 2013 by Leslie Brooks Suzukamo in Pioneer Press

Xcel won't need more wind energy until 2019 at the earliest, because it has built up a sufficient storehouse of wind energy, Xcel spokeswoman Mary Sandok said. Xcel will revive its idea for a consumer renewable credit with Congress this year when lobbying begins anew on extending the production tax credit beyond 2013.

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| Minnesota]

Insight: In "fiscal cliff" bill, White House was key to corporate tax breaks
January 7, 2013 by Patrick Temple-West, Marcus Stern and Susan Cornwell in Reuters

It also became a lesson in how Washington's taste for dishing out favors to special interests is alive and well, despite bipartisan calls for the government to reduce the tax credits it gives businesses and individuals at a time when the nation's debt tops $16 trillion and is growing.

Also filed under [ USA]

With long-term fate of PTC in balance, big utility assesses its relationship with wind industry
January 7, 2013 by Nick Juliano and Hannah Northey in E&E News

The company has not made any final decision about its future with AWEA but is exploring options that would focus its Washington, D.C., lobbying efforts more on securing benefits for customers. It remains to be seen what the company will decide or whether it will seek to establish a splinter group of like-minded companies.

Also filed under [ USA| Minnesota]

Dems dig in against spending cuts to clean-energy programs
January 7, 2013 by Zack Colman in The Hill

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), a second-term lawmaker who opposes energy credits, said he believes Congress "can get rid of a big swath" of energy subsidies. "I've spent the first two years in Congress talking about these market distortions," Pompeo told The Hill. "This is the stuff that five years ago wasn't even talked about. I think we've made a lot of progress in getting awareness."

Also filed under [ Energy Policy| USA]

Developers say wind tax credits are not crucial to local projects
January 6, 2013 by Nancy Bean Foster in New Hampshire Sunday News and Union Leader

In averting the "fiscal cliff"' last week, Congress also extended tax credits for wind energy development for the next year, but while the news is good for the industry, several developers say they aren't the deciding factor when looking at New Hampshire projects.

Also filed under [ New Hampshire]

Top Wind Utility: Wind subsidy benefits industry, not consumers
January 4, 2013 by Lachlan Markay in The Foundry

"Congress prolonged some of the worst energy policy" by including subsidies for the industry in the fiscal cliff deal, Heritage's Nick Loris wrote on Thursday, noting that the PTC "distort[s] prices by disguising the costs of certain energy choices while exacerbating the costs of others."

Also filed under [ USA]

The fiscal cliff deal helped wind power. But our wind policy is still insane.
January 4, 2013 by Brad Plumer in Washington Post

Whether there's a longer-term boom depends a lot on what policies Congress sets this year. Many conservatives would prefer to stop subsidizing wind power altogether after 2013, saying that it's too expensive, too intermittent and too hard to integrate into the grid. ..."The goal shouldn't be to simply subsidize industries endlessly."

Also filed under [ USA]