House energy bill puts oil, wind at odds
Times Record News|Trish Choate|March 2, 2008
Pump jacks and wind turbines were at odds in an energy bill the House approved this week, creating a quandary for North Texas where both could share the horizon. ...But he thinks it's unfair to penalize one sector of the energy industry to benefit another, Michael Frohlich, spokesman for the Lubbock Republican, said. Increasing taxes on five of the biggest oil companies will drive up energy prices for consumers, Frohlich said. "The Democrats are shooting at big oil companies, but they're hitting Americans in their wallets," Frohlich said.
Pump jacks and wind turbines were at odds in an energy bill the House approved this week, creating a quandary for North Texas where both could share the horizon. ...But he thinks it's unfair to penalize one sector of the energy industry to benefit another, Michael Frohlich, spokesman for the Lubbock Republican, said. Increasing taxes on five of the biggest oil companies will drive up energy prices for consumers, Frohlich said. "The Democrats are shooting at big oil companies, but they're hitting Americans in their wallets," Frohlich said.
Pump jacks and wind turbines were at odds in an energy bill the House approved this week, creating a quandary for North Texas where both could share the horizon.
The bill rolled back tax breaks for the biggest oil companies to drum up $18 million for alternative energy tax incentives, including a wind energy production tax credit.
Two North Texas congressmen voted against the bill in protest of the oil taxes, but a businessman nurturing the thriving wind industry was pleased with its passage.
"If they don't like the way it's written and where the money comes from, find another way to do it because this is working here," Greg Wortham, executive director of the West Texas Wind Energy Consortium, said.
The Senate has yet to consider …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Pump jacks and wind turbines were at odds in an energy bill the House approved this week, creating a quandary for North Texas where both could share the horizon.
The bill rolled back tax breaks for the biggest oil companies to drum up $18 million for alternative energy tax incentives, including a wind energy production tax credit.
Two North Texas congressmen voted against the bill in protest of the oil taxes, but a businessman nurturing the thriving wind industry was pleased with its passage.
"If they don't like the way it's written and where the money comes from, find another way to do it because this is working here," Greg Wortham, executive director of the West Texas Wind Energy Consortium, said.
The Senate has yet to consider House Resolution 5351, the latest version of an energy bill floated by Democrats. Bush is expected to veto the legislation the House passed Wednesday.
But the wind energy credit expires Sept. 31, Wortham, mayor of Sweetwater, Texas, said. If it's not extended, layoffs will start in six months. With the credit, the Sweetwater area economy is booming. [Editor's note: the wind energy credit is set to expire Dec 31.]
More areas could do the same if the credit is extended now, he said.
U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry, who represents Wichita Falls, said a bill he's authored would extend the wind energy production tax credit for 10 years.
That's eight years longer than the Democrats' bill.
Instead of levying new taxes, his House Resolution 3089 aims to ratchet up all forms of domestic energy production, he said in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, who represents Young County and part of Archer County, supports the wind energy credits.
But he thinks it's unfair to penalize one sector of the energy industry to benefit another, Michael Frohlich, spokesman for the Lubbock Republican, said.
Increasing taxes on five of the biggest oil companies will drive up energy prices for consumers, Frohlich said.
"The Democrats are shooting at big oil companies, but they're hitting Americans in their wallets," Frohlich said.
At first blush, the energy bill approved this week doesn't appear to have a big impact on smaller, domestic, independent oil and gas producers, Bill Stevens, executive vice president of the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers, said.
"But we still oppose the bill," Stevens of Abilene said.
It's bad policy to shift money from the oil and gas industry to other energy sources, he said.
"We continue to believe that the market needs to make those determinations," Stevens said.
The association isn't opposed to the development of alternative energy, either, he said.
Wortham isn't opposed to traditional energy, which he sees operating side by side with the renewable energy sector.
"There's nobody throwing rocks at each other," he said. "We want to solve the problem. We think that's sort of our duty, and we want the folks in Washington to help us."