Just one day after Republicans blocked attempts in the Senate to eliminate subsidies for big oil, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) wants to instead cut subsidies for the wind industry.
At a Senate Appropriations hearing on the Dept of Energy (DOE) budget, he said that he would consider cutting support for all energy sources, including wind.
Over the next 10 years, the wind industry is slated to receive $27 billion in tax breaks, while the biggest oil companies would get $21 billion.
He said, "To continue to subsidize over the long-term a mature industry isn’t appropriate."
That’s correct. Big oil is most definitely a "mature" industry. While the wind industry is the most mature of the renewable energy sectors, its growth still rises and falls based on government support.
Over the past couple of years the US wind industry has suffered, reaching its lowest growth levels in years, as investors and companies have pulled out of the US because of uncertain and constantly changing government policies and support.
The U.S. wind market entered 2011 with 5,600 MW under construction – more than twice the megawatts under construction at the start of 2010. The extension of the 1603 tax credit in December 2010 provided a signal to investors to continue growing wind in the U.S., as this strong performance indicates.
America’s wind industry grew 15% in 2010 and provided 26% of all new electric generating capacity in the United States.
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