Another Sweetheart Deal for Big Wind?

WASHINGTON — American Energy Alliance President Thomas Pyle issued the following statement about the House Republicans’ proposed tax extenders deal:

“The wind PTC was a bad idea yesterday, it’s a bad idea today, and it will be a bad idea tomorrow.

“Over twenty percent of this extenders deal, nearly $10 billion, is a handout to AWEA and its allies like the League of Conservation Voters who spent $75 million during the midterm elections in an effort to defeat Republicans. Now the House Republicans are prepared to reward them with a massive handout courtesy of the American taxpayer. This sweetheart deal will cost American families close to $100 per household, and will stick them with more expensive and less reliable electricity in the future.

“A vote for this deal is also an endorsement of President Obama’s climate agenda, as the PTC is integral to the administration’s costly climate action plan.

“At the very least, the House should revert back to the original ‘placed in service’ language rather than accepting the vague and expensive ‘under construction’ idea that the PTC should apply from the moment that a CEO of a wind company simply thinks about building a turbine.

“A one-year extension is an early Christmas present from the House Republicans to big wind manufacturers like GE and a number of foreign owned companies. Instead of trying to ‘clear the decks’ for next year, Congress should put an end to this lucrative handout once and for all.”

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