Wind companies worry that BETC changes will hurt the state’s competitiveness.
The Senate is set to pass changes for the Business Energy Tax Credit that will reduce the amount of tax credits for large-scale wind energy projects.
But wind companies are worried that changes to the BETC will make Oregon less competitive in attracting new companies and projects.
“This bill is better than the bill passed by the Legislature last session,” said John Audley, deputy director of the Renewable Northwest Project. “We urge the Senate to pass it un-amended. But the simple fact of the matter is these revisions will have a negative impact on wind in Oregon. And projects are not going to get built.”
In the past, developers of Oregon wind projects could earn tax credits for 50 percent of eligible project costs. That cash savings allowed Oregon wind developers to offer lower electricity prices to utilities, which made Oregon wind projects more attractive than those in other states, according to Elon Hasson, project manager at Horizon Wind Energy.
Read the full story at the Daily Journal of Commerce.
{biztweet}Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit{/biztweet}
