Opponents of wind energy subsidies continue to speak out as Congress faces a decision on whether to renew the wind production tax credit.
Bonner Cohen, Ph.D., senior fellow at The National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), says Congress should shut off the wind subsidy for a number of reasons -- one being that America can no longer afford it with its ever-increasing debt. Second, Cohen says the wind industry does not need the subsidy.
"The industry actually has a market that has been created for itself by certain states in the United States," Cohen tells OneNewsNow. "Twenty-nine states, plus the District of Columbia, have something called Renewable Portfolio Standards, which is a fancy name for mandates, mandating the use of renewable energy in the selection of electricity that each state uses."
Given that each standard uses a sliding scale for which a certain amount of electricity must come from wind and other renewables, Cohen says the market is guaranteed to grow.
Still, a number of lawmakers are in favor of wind subsidies and the wind production tax credit. Congressman Steve King (R-IA) and Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) attended a bipartisan press conference in November to call for another extension of the tax credit, which has been in effect since 1992. They say in Iowa's case, the wind industry is not only producing electricity -- 20 percent of its entire electricity supply -- but jobs have also been created.
"In those areas of the country which are prone to relatively high levels of wind -- the Midwest, the plains states, the Dakotas, Montana, Wyoming -- it is no surprise that local politicians there, with a few exceptions, support the wind industry because they say it provides jobs there," he explains.
"But these jobs are actually very artificial. They are 'Made-in-Washington' jobs. They are subsidized jobs, and they are jobs that contribute to our deficit, which is already $16 trillion."
Cohen says that is another reason why he is opposed to the subsidy, noting that it is leveled across the board -- meaning taxpayers in low-wind states help foot the bill for something only a small percentage of the population might benefit from every time the wind blows.