Green Energy Growth at Risk if Production Credit Expires
The construction of new hydroelectric dams, geothermal wells and biomass projects are threatened if Congress does not approve an extension of the production tax credit. Renewable energy interests provided a stark warning in a conference call on Feb. 8 as they pushed for an extension of the PTC, which is set to expire at the end of February.
"Without passage of the PTC soon or early, we will see those projects mothballed for a very long time," says Linda Church Ciocci, executive director of the National Hydropower Association. Ciocci said there are 80,000 MW of hydro projects awaiting licensing from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and many of those in the pipeline will not be developed without an extension of the $22/MWh PTC.