Photo courtesy of Oceana

As part of the Sierra Club’s advocacy for renewable energy jobs and ensuring America transitions to a clean energy economy, on June 5 the Club launched “Wind Works,” a campaign for renewal of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy. The PTC is a federal tax policy that helps level the playing field by providing the certainty the wind industry needs for continued growth, but the PTC is set to expire at the end of this year.

There are currently 75,000 jobs supported by the wind industry across the country. Renewing the PTC will help sustain and create more American jobs while helping to protect public health by moving the country beyond dirty energy. Urge your Congressman to renew the Production Tax Credit for wind.

Background.

• Supporting the wind industry will create high-quality American-made jobs and protect public health by moving the country beyond dirty energy.
• There are already 75,000 jobs supported by the wind industry across all fifty states.
• Iowa and South Dakota generate 20 percent of their electricity from wind power, and the wind industry is on track to produce 20 percent of America’s electricity by 2030.
• Unfortunately, a federal tax policy called the Production Tax Credit (PTC) that helps level the playing field and is critical for providing the certainty that the wind industry needs for continued growth is set to expire on December 31, 2012. The failure of Congress to renew the PTC is causing instability that means layoffs right now. If the PTC is allowed to expire, approximately 37,000 jobs are expected to be lost before the end of the year.
• While Congress is unwilling to cut subsidies to big polluters, many members of Congress seem to be willing to let the Production Tax Credit expire, which will mean more people out of work.
• Representative/Senator X should protect jobs and public health by supporting the federal tax policy that provides long-term support for the wind industry. It is time to invest in American-made jobs.