Heather Zichal speaks at the WINDPOWER 2012 Conference and Exhibition in Atlanta, Georgia.
Earlier this week, I spoke at the WINDPOWER 2012 Conference and Exhibition – the largest wind industry event in the world. Building on President Obama’s remarks in Newton, Iowa, I highlighted a few key items on the President’s To-Do list for Congress — including extending the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and the 48C Advanced Energy Manufacturing Credit.
These credits have played an important role in fueling job creation and supporting a manufacturing base in clean energy. As I told the crowd in Atlanta:
This is a priority for the President because he sees the American wind industry as an American success story. Over the past few years – thanks in part to these tax credits – this industry has flourished. Today, we have enough wind capacity to power 10 million homes across the country. In 2011, which was a banner year for the industry, nearly one-third of all new power capacity in the United States came from wind. Five states now produce more than 10 percent of their electricity from wind power. And in places like Iowa and South Dakota, that figure is closer to 20 percent.
So this is an industry with momentum. And it’s an industry that’s putting people back to work. It used to be that we had to import most of the 8,000 component parts that go into a modern wind turbine. But today, with nearly 500 wind-related manufacturing facilities in 43 states, we’re producing more and more of those parts in America.
Fonte: White House