Free Market Coalition to U.S. Governors: Oppose Wind PTC

WASHINGTON D.C. — American Energy Alliance President Thomas Pyle was joined today by eight other free market organizations in a joint letter to governors of 21 U.S. states that do not force their citizens to purchase unaffordable, intermittent electricity from renewable sources. The letter urges these governors to oppose any further extension of the wind Production Tax Credit (PTC) that unfairly forces their states to subsidize such mandates in other states. The coalition chose to send the letter on Tax Day, a day when Americans have a heightened awareness of the direct cost that bad government policy imposes on them and their families.

“Your constituents pay disproportionately for a lavish tax credit that does not benefit them,” the letter states. “Instead of helping your constituents, the PTC leads to energy production in other states that is unsustainable without the mandates and federal subsidies. Under the wind PTC, non-renewable mandate states like yours — which has wisely chosen to allow the most affordable and reliable forms of energy to be purchased by consumers and industries — are penalized for the political decisions of states like California, Massachusetts, and New York.

“By taking a principled stand against the PTC, you help taxpayers in your own state and ensure more cost-effective electricity generation over all. We urge you to call for an end to this wasteful, inequitable subsidy immediately.”

The other signatories of the letter are:

Myron Ebell, Freedom Action
Marlo Lewis, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Eli Lehrer, R Street Institute
Sabrina Schaeffer, Independent Women’s Forum
Michael Needham, Heritage Action
Wayne Brough, Freedom Works
David Ridenour, The National Center for Public Policy Research
Phil Kerpen, American Commitment

To read the full text of the letter, click here.

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