By Chris Day | Examiner-Enterprise | February 3, 2016 | examiner-enterprise.com
U.S. Sen. James Lankford wants to phase out federal renewable energy production tax credits by 2031, making 2019 the last year to apply for a credit.
The Oklahoma Republican offered an amendment to the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016 on the Senate floor Wednesday.
The energy act reduces the production tax credit, which applies to all renewable energy construction projects in the next few years, but doesn’t end the incentive that was established in 1992. The production tax credit was vital to help establish a new energy source, Lankford said.
“Twenty-four years later, the tax credit is still there,” he said.
The incentive was scheduled to expire in 2014, but was retroactively renewed in December of that year.
Oklahoma is an energy state, Lankford said. Many think of Oklahoma as an oil and gas state. However, it has embraced renewable energy sources, especially wind power.
Wind power accounted for 14.8 percent of the electricity generated in Oklahoma in 2013.
The wind power industry can’t remain in limbo, Lankford said. It needs a firm phase-out date.
“Wind is a good energy source. It doesn’t need help anymore,” Lankford said.
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/02/04/wind-power-incentive-should-be-eliminated-in-2020-u-s-sen-james-lankford-says/