Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Some Veterans Want PTC Renewed

Some U.S. Military veterans are urging Congress to renew the Production Tax Credit for wind energy development.The credit is set to expire at the end of this year. It provides producers a little more than two cents for every kilowatt-hour of power they generate. U.S. Army Veteran Nick Anderson of Ohio served in the Iraq war. He says his experience transporting jet fuel in the oil-rich Middle East shows more should be done to encourage domestic alternative energy sources.

Fellow veteran Michael Breen says many of the skills learned in the military translate well to clean energy jobs in the rapidly growing field.

breen - of thing 10.mp3

Bob Fagen of the research and consulting firm Synapse Energy Economics says the credit is partially responsible for a decline in Ohio residential and business energy costs.

fagen - wind industry 21.mp3

Fagen says the capacity of Ohio's approved and pending wind turbines is over 18-hundred megawatts, enough to power 450-thousand homes. The credit has enjoyed bipartisan support for two decades, with controversy this year centering on the cost. The U.S. Senate Finance Committee has approved an extension, but it's not clear if the fHouse will hold a vote before the lame duck session ends. Fagen says other energy producers have launched a campaign to derail renewal, including nuclear power generator Exelon Corporation.

Jim has been with WCBE since 1996. Before that he worked as a reporter at another Columbus radio station, and for three newspapers in Southwest Florida.