A group of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced new legislation that would extend a number of incentives for wind power and other forms of renewable energy while stripping subsidies for fossil fuels.
The bill - Investing to Modernize the Production of American Clean Energy and Technology (IMPACT Act) - introduced by Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass.; Henry Waxman, D-Calif.; John Larson, D-Conn.; Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; and Bill Pascrell Jr.; D-N.J. - proposes an eight-year extension to the production tax credit (PTC) for wind, solar, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic power production.
Notably, however, the bill specifies that if a renewable electricity standard or similar measure - such as the clean energy standard proposed most recently by Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M. - were to become law, the PTC would be phased out within 12 months.
