Talk of a Wind Subsidy ‘Phaseout’

[wtmusic]

"The wind industry, fighting to hold onto a generous tax credit set to expire in December, has been arguing that it does not need the support forever – just a little while longer, until it can compete with fossil fuels on its own.

The tax break subsidizes wind power by 2.2 cents a kilowatt hour to bring its cost closer to that of conventional fuels, and it has periodically been renewed by Congress with support from both parties. But like other subsidies for alternative energy, it has been tarred in some people’s eyes by the government’s investment in the failed solar company Solyndra and has become a wedge issue in the presidential contest. President Obama wants the credit extended, while Mitt Romney has urged that it expire as scheduled.

But while campaigning on Friday in Iowa, a state with a lot of wind business, Mr. Romney seemed to be opening the door to a different position — or at least allowing himself some wiggle room should a compromise be found. 'We will support nuclear and renewables but phase out subsidies once an industry is on its feet,' he said, without offering more specifics."

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/28/talk-of-a-wind-subsidy-phaseout/

[intaglio]

1. Just so long as all subsidies go

like those to the nuclear and coal generation industries