Grassley authored the first-ever wind-energy tax credit in 1992, and now chairs the Senate committee responsible for all tax bills. "Sen. Grassley is not only the father of the wind tax credit, he has been its strongest advocate for more than 10 years," said Randall Swisher, Executive Director of the American Wind Energy Association.
Earlier this month, Grassley won committee approval for a comprehensive energy tax package that includes an extension until January 1, 2007, of his original tax credit. The provision helped launch the then-fledgling wind energy industry and has yielded $33 million in benefits to Iowans over the last decade. Among the 50 states, Iowa is now 3rd in wind energy capacity. The state ranks 10th for wind-energy potential.
Last month, MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co. announced plans to build a massive new wind farm and the world's largest wind-powered electric generating facility in Iowa. It will generate enough electricity to power 85,000 homes. David Sokol, the Chairman and CEO, said, "... enactment of the wind energy production tax credit extension that you have long championed is critical to making MidAmerican's Iowa wind project work."
The Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2003 ? which includes numerous Grassley-sponsored renewable energy incentives ? now awaits consideration by the full Senate. Grassley said he plans to offer the bill as an amendment to energy legislation to be put forward this year by the Senate Energy Committee. "It's all part of passing a national energy plan," he said. "Wind energy is a new generation way to produce electrical power. It's reliable, renewable, inexhaustible, environmentally friendly and homegrown."
Technological advances have greatly reduced the cost of building high-tech windmills, and Iowans have collected approximately $2 million in rental payments for windmills since 1993. "With Iowa leading the way, a dozen states in the central United States have the potential to use wind to produce four times the amount of power the nation consumes," Grassley said. "Wind energy is good for consumers, too. It can help clamp down on both energy shortages and soaring energy prices."
Wind energy bears also promising environmental gains. Every 10,000 megawatts of wind energy produced in the U.S. can reduce carbon monoxide emissions by 33 million metric tons by replacing the combustion of fossil fuels.