Legislation has been reintroduced to the U.S. Congress that would extend tax credits for the offshore wind sector to 2025.
The Offshore Wind Incentives for New Development Act was introduced by Democratic Senators Edward Markey and Sheldon Whitehouse, and Republican Congressman Jim Langevin.
It was co-sponsored by Jack Reed, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, all Democrats.
American Wind Energy Association chief executive Tom Kiernan said, “Without Congressional action, the federal Investment Tax Credit for offshore wind is set to phase out this year — just as the first wave of large-scale offshore wind projects prepare to begin construction.”
And the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act, introduced by Senators Thomas Carper (D-Del.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine), would extend the ITC at 30 percent of the project’s total value for six years and eight years, respectively.
Other groups supporting the legislation include Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, Mass Audubon, Natural Resources Defense Council and Oceana.
Also in other news, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), along with U.S. Senators Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Angus King (I-Maine), introduced legislation this week to achieve at least 50 percent renewable electricity nationwide in 15 years.
This places the United States on track to decarbonize the power sector by 2050.
The legislation would “more than double the U.S. supply of renewable energy from 18 percent of electricity generation in 2018 to at least 50 percent by 2035, cut power sector carbon dioxide emissions by 46 percent, and save consumers money on their energy bills.”
The Renewable Electricity Standard Act of 2019 has received endorsements from a wide range of groups, such as American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), Appalachian Voices, Climate for Health, ecoAmerica, Environment America, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Environmental Working Group, Health Care Without Harm, Interwest Energy Alliance, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Rocky Mountain Institute, Sierra Club, Solar Energy, Industries Association (SEIA), Union of Concerned Scientists and the Wilderness Society
