Senators Push For Offshore Wind Tax Break

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Sugar Land, Texas)--Two U.S. senators from different sides of the political divide have introduced legislation that would provide a tax break to boost investment in the nation's budding offshore wind industry.

Senators Tom Carper (D-Delaware) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have introduced the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act, which would create an investment tax credit (ITC) that is redeemable for the first 3,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind projects to become operational. Up until now, Congress has supported temporary credit for offshore projects, with the last extension of that credit finishing up at the end of 2014. The senators maintain that the temporary nature of the tax break dissuades potential investors from backing offshore wind projects.

The act would provide a 30% tax credit on the investment in offshore wind for the first 3,000 MW generated. The U.S. Treasury would decide who gets the tax credit. Once awarded, project developers would have five years to install and commission the windfarm. Offshore projects are defined by the act as those located in the coastal waters of the U.S., including territorial waters, as well the Great Lakes and other navigable inland waterways.

"Offshore wind energy will mean reliable, homegrown power, cleaner air and good-paying American jobs--it's a win-win-win," Carper said. "Senator Collins and I have introduced this bill to help create the nurturing environment the industry needs to grow and thrive. Instead of yearly extensions of the investment tax credit that fall short, a credit for the first actors will encourage private sector development of offshore wind facilities across the country and help move the United States closer to energy independence."

"This bipartisan legislation will help catalyze the offshore wind industry and create jobs in the United States," Collins added. "This proposal will help give private-sector companies the tax certainty they need to develop this industry in America past its infancy and create a new sustainable source of domestic power."

Earlier this year, construction began on the country's first offshore windfarm, off the coast of Rhode Island. Deepwater Wind LLC (Providence, Rhode Island), is developing the 30-MW, $300 million Block Island Offshore Windfarm, which will start operations next summer. It will use five 6-MW, direct-drive Haliade-150 wind turbines from Alstom S.A. (Levallois-Perret, France). For additional information, see May 1, 2015, article - Construction Begins on First U.S. Offshore Windfarm.

According to research from the University of Delaware Special Initiative on Offshore Wind, the Atlantic coast could potentially cater up to 330 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind power, which would be enough to power the East Coast.

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