Wind credit set to expire

Sep 28 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Kirsti Marohn St. Cloud Times, Minn.

Environmentalists, farmers and wind energy companies say the looming end of a federal tax credit will mean fewer wind farms being built and the loss of thousands of Minnesota jobs.

The Sierra Club, the Minnesota Farmers Union and 35 other businesses and organizations and elected officials are asking Minnesota's congressional delegation to support renewing the wind production tax credit, which they say has helped put Minnesota among leading states in terms of wind production. The 20-year-old production tax credit, which provides wind farms with an income tax credit of 2.2 cents for every kilowatt hour of electricity they produce, is set to lapse.

Supporters say the tax credit has helped level the playing field and allowed the industry to compete with cheaper but more polluting forms of energy.

"If the (credit) is renewed, we would definitely see the wind industry grow and we would see jobs continue to be created here in Minnesota," said Joshua Low, organizer with the Sierra Club's North Star chapter.

Wind generated about 12.7 percent of the electricity used in Minnesota last year. In Iowa and South Dakota, it's about 20 percent.

The wind industry already has been seeing the effects of the uncertainty surrounding the tax credit, including a slowdown of new projects and the loss of manufacturing jobs.

On Thursday, North Dakota wind turbine maker LM Wind Power announced it is laying off more than 300 workers.

Doug Peterson, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, said farmers support the wind industry as a source of jobs and income.

Farmers who allow wind turbines to be built on their land receive payments.

"It really is an investment in the rural areas of this country," Peterson said.

The end of the tax credit could affect three wind farms planned for Stearns County. Edina-based Geronimo Wind Energy is proposing to build a 95-megawatt wind farm near Paynesville with as many as 60 turbines, as well as the 42-megawatt Black Oak Wind Farm near Sauk Centre.

The company also is working with landowners who formed Getty Wind, a community-based wind project next to Black Oak.

Geronimo has been trying to find a utility willing to purchase power generated by the wind farms. The company did not respond to calls for comment.

Without the production tax credit, utilities are less willing to sign power purchase agreements because of the price uncertainty, said Shanelle Evens Montana of EDF Renewable Energy, which has developed 900 megawatts of wind in Minnesota.

Wind projects can take years to develop, including wind studies, working with landowners and getting needed approval, Evens Montana said.

"Developers in Minnesota need a stable market," she said. "We need a market that has certainty for many years to come."