Now that President Obama has been re-elected, there is a high likelihood that the Production Tax Credit will be renewed for another 12 months before expiring at the end of the year, according to Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association.
According to a recent statement, the association sees bipartisan support in Congress to extend the credit. This is expected to incentivize $1.5 billion a year in private investment in U.S. wind farms with support steady in the Senate and a net increase in the numer of announced supporters in the U.S. House.
“Swing states with wind farms and factories went overwhelming for Obama and that helps remove uncertainty regarding the extension,” Bode recently stated.
There are about 75,000 U.S. wind-industry workers in the U.S., according to AWEA, with many workers residing in GOP-leaning Midwestern states. And the AWEA has anticipated that letting the tax credit lapse will lead to the elimination of 37,000 wind-industry jobs.
U.S. turbine installations are anticipated to fall by as much as 88 percent next year if the Product Tax Credit isn’t extended, says New Energy Finance wind industry analyst Amy Grace.
However, even if the tax credit is renewed, an industry turnaround won’t start right away. According to New Energy Finance, projects won’t get financed until the second half of 2013, with turbine orders spiking in late 2013.