Senior executives from four of the world’s top wind turbine manufacturers–GE Energy (NYSE: GE), Gamesa (GTQ1.DE), Siemens (NYSE: SI) and Vestas (VWS.DE)–joined to urge Congress to act promptly to extend the renewable energy production tax credit (PTC). The PTC, a valuable tax incentive for the renewable energy industry, is now set to expire December 31, 2008, although a one-year extension was recently approved by the Senate.
The four executives offered their companies’ perspectives on wind power’s growth potential and called attention to wind power as part of the climate solution at a breakfast meeting convened by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), a Washington, D.C.-based trade group.
The four firms are the largest manufacturers of turbines sold in the U.S. during 2007, as measured by installed generating capacity in megawatts (MW) and number of turbines, as reported by AWEA’s annual survey.
"Thanks in part to the PTC, U.S. wind power capacity is now over 16,800 MW-or enough to serve the equivalent of 4.5 million average households-and wind has been the second largest source of new electrical capacity in the nation, behind natural gas, for the past three years," added Julius Steiner, CEO, Gamesa USA. "Gamesa has added 1,000 new wind jobs in the U.S. during that time period."
Edward Lowe, General Manager, Renewables Market Development, GE Energy, said. "Since entering the wind business in 2002, GE has created more than 5,000 US industry jobs, a number that could more than double with a long-term, stable policy commitment in place. We strongly urge Congress to renew the PTC in order to sustain and accelerate this industry’s growth and ‘green-collar’ job creation."
Roby Roberts, Vice President of Government Relations, Vestas, the world’s largest producer of wind turbines, said, "In March we opened our first factory in the U.S., creating over 600 local jobs, and we recently announced plans to establish a tower factory and an R&D facility in the U.S. We need to build up our network of suppliers within the U.S., and it is vital that our suppliers can make strategic decisions in the medium and long-term. Prompt extension of the PTC is crucial to fully realising investments and to unleash the job creation this growing network can provide."
"Wind power is fundamentally a manufacturing industry, which in turn means jobs and economic growth," said Michael Revak, Director Wind Energy Americas, Siemens. "Our Siemens Fort Madison, Iowa, turbine blade facility currently employs roughly 250 workers, and we hope to double that number. We’re also planning a new research and development center in the U.S."
The PTC provides an incentive of two cents per kilowatt-hour generated to facilities that produce electricity from renewable energy resources, including wind, biomass, geothermal, and hydropower. The credit can be claimed for 10 years, beginning on the date the qualified facility is placed in service. The facility must begin operation before the credit expires. Previous short-term extensions of the PTC have caused a boom-and-bust cycle in the wind industry, increasing costs along the entire supply chain and keeping businesses from growing to their full potential.
The U.S. has one of the most abundant wind resources of any nation in the world. Industry experts believe wind energy can provide 20% of the nation’s electricity needs by the year 2030, creating 500,000 jobs and more than $400 billion net present value in economic benefits, while helping reduce greenhouse emissions and other pollution from the electricity sector.
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