Credit Where Credit is Overdue

Congress renews wind-energy tax credit for a year

A popular tax credit for companies generating wind energy will likely live on through 2005. Renewal of the wind-energy production tax credit was included in the monstrous Bush administration energy bill, but that bill is, to enviros' great relief, currently stuck in legislative limbo. However, lawmakers inserted the tax credit in a family tax-cut bill that passed last week, which Bush is expected to sign. According to Tom Gray of the American Wind Energy Association, this means that "about $3 billion in wind-energy investments forecast over the next several years are now back on track across the country." It's an open question whether the wind-energy industry could thrive absent the tax credit, but companies are loath to move forward in the face of uncertainty about its fate. The industry has long pushed for a longer-term tax credit, which would enable longer-term planning.