Bennet Secures Extensions of Wind PTC, Solar ITC

Renewable Energy Credits Extended for Five Years in Year-End Bill

Washington, DC – December 18, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet secured extensions for the wind production tax credit (PTC) and the solar investment tax credit (ITC) in a bill Congress is considering to fund the government and extend several tax-related provisions. The long-term extensions finally give certainty to renewable energy manufacturers and producers in Colorado and around the country.

“Renewable energy like wind and solar are major parts of Colorado’s diverse energy industry and support thousands of real, brick and mortar jobs up and down the supply chain,” Bennet said. “We’re still reviewing the full bill, but these extensions would provide more certainty than we’ve had in some time for the wind and solar industries and the Coloradans who depend on them. This can help support thousands of jobs across the state. That being said, we need to keep working to extend the ITC for small wind projects.”

The bill extends the wind PTC for five years, while phasing it down over that same period. In 2015 and 2016, wind energy producers are eligible to receive the full credit of 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour of energy produced. In 2017, producers can take 80 percent of the credit, followed by a phase down to 60 percent of the credit in 2018 and 40 percent of the credit in 2019. Earlier this year, Bennet secured a two-year extension of the PTC in a bill considered by the Senate Finance Committee.

The solar ITC is also extended for five years beyond 2016 when it is currently set to expire, and it has been modified to include language from a bipartisan bill Bennet introduced to allow projects to take the credit as soon as they have “commenced construction.” Any project that starts construction before January 1, 2022 and is completed before January 1, 2024 will be eligible to receive the credit.