Wind Tax Credit and New Energy Policies See Signs of Hope

WASHINGTON — The fiscal cliff is dominating headlines right now and it affects the green building world just as much as any other industry, especially as the political showdown coincides with the expiration of the Wind Production Tax Credit. Republicans have been focusing on cutting tax credits as a means of raising revenue, which is scaring some people in the green building industry. It seems very likely that the credit will be renewed for 2013, as failing to pass a routine renewal would result in a very rapid and public loss of jobs in the wind turbine industry.

A changing of the guard in the senate’s Energy and Natural Resources Committee is also creating some buzz. Senator Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat and the new chairman of the committee, and Alaskan Senator Lisa Murkowski, the ranking Republican of the group, have voiced their belief that they can achieve a major energy policy change through the legislative branch for the first time since 2007.

Murkowski vowed to work with Wyden to get something done at a CQ Roll Call interview where the pair discussed the future of their committee in the days following November’s election.

“My friend, I extend my hand because we’re going to work together,” she said. “We’re going to set the tone; we’re going to set the standard. We both recognize there’s a lot of pent-up demand out there.”

After years of relative inaction on energy policy, Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat who sits on the committee, recently proclaimed that he’d “never been more optimistic than I am right now with Ron Wyden and Lisa Murkowski” during another energy policy event hosted by POLITICO.

Murkowski spent much of 2012 working on an energy blueprint for the nation, which she is expected to release for debate in early 2013.

In terms of the wind tax credit, both sides seem to be meeting in the middle. Murkowski has voiced her belief that the credit should be phased out slowly over time, while many in her party would probably prefer it to end immediately. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) released a statement in mid-December indicating its agreement on this front, requesting a six-year step down in the amount of credit, with the tax savings dropping by 10 percent every year.

“We’re already showing we’re a leader in innovation. Now we’re showing we’re a leader in addressing the country’s fiscal issues,” AWEA CEO Denise Bode said in a news release. “At the same time, our number-one priority right now is not putting the wind industry over its own fiscal cliff.”

Though its unlikely this issue will stop being contentious tomorrow, it appears that some of the central players are moving towards the middle and attempting to play ball.