Congressman Ed Perlmutter's e-Newsletter

June 21 , 2012

The Wind-Energy Production Tax Credit

It is an honor and a privilege to represent Colorado’s 7th Congressional District, which is home to many private companies and organizations working on domestic energy production. Facilities in Colorado such as NREL, SolarTAC, and the Colorado School of Mines, as well as private businesses like GE, Abound Solar, and Vestas are transforming the way we power our nation. Investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency is good for jobs and good for our national security.

Key to this effort is for Congress to quickly pass an extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) which will maintain thousands of private sector jobs in Colorado's wind industry. The PTC is important not only to wind turbine manufacturers, but to all the small businesses along the supply chain and to the farmers and land owners who house turbines on their property.

The PTC provides an income tax credit of 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for wind turbines during their first 10 years of operation, and was extended seven times in the last decade. Over the tax credit's 10 year existence, the American wind energy industry created over 500 manufacturing facilities in 44 states, affected a 90% drop in the price of wind energy, and resulted in an average annual private investment of $15 billion over the past five years.

It is projected that the extension of this tax credit will help create over 54,000 jobs within the next four years and 500,000 new jobs by 2030. If the credit is not extended there will be a two-thirds drop in private investments and a loss of half of the current wind industry jobs.

We need to pass this extension. Please click here to share your thoughts on the wind energy industry.

New Web Pages
As your Representative for the 7th Congressional District of Colorado I strive to keep my constituents informed on legislation, changes to federal agencies, and helpful resources affecting our district. Recently, I updated my website to provide even more helpful tips, the latest news and information about legislation affecting our district, and updates on coming summer events and programs.

I have updated my Grant Request page to help organizations apply for grants, and added resources for the unemployed and current job seekers on my Job Resources page. Also, take a look at a brand new page featuring my Government in the Grocery program - it highlights just a few of the many constituents who have brought their concerns to me over the years and the work my staff and I have done to help.

Click here to visit my new Government in the Grocery page.
Click here to visit my Job Resources page.
Click here to visit my updated Grant Request page.
Click here to stay current with my upcoming events.

Constituent Success Story: Grady
Last Tuesday, my staff awarded Grady Jensen a certificate in honor of his outstanding service to his community. Grady is an Eagle Scout, and for his Eagle Project he fundraised and collaborated with sculptors to create a Service Dog Memorial to honor the different ways service dogs assist people in our communities. The memorial illuminates four kinds of service dogs ranging from Guide Dogs who help the disabled to Rescue Dogs who find victims of avalanche slides, fires and other natural disasters.

I want to thank Grady for his hard work on this educational project. His service to our community shows the impact a young and outgoing volunteer can have in our area. I encourage all of us to find ways to serve our community, our state and the nation. Click here to find out ways to volunteer in your area or and click here to read more about Grady's Service Dog Memorial.

Courtesy of Carrie Dow

"It was a lot of work, and I am proud of how it turned out after two years of hard work. I did this project to help educate the community about the amazing things Service Dogs can do and how animals can help the less fortunate."