Wind energy: Iowa model for success

[jpak]

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0212/72954.html

Low, stable tax rates generate jobs and economic growth. This idea has been the bedrock of conservative economic ideology for decades. One industry that represents this essential conservative principle is U.S. wind energy.

Low taxes in the form of the federal Production Tax Credit for wind have driven as much as $20 billion of private investment a year into the U.S. economy. Wind power is now one of America’s biggest sources of new electricity and fastest growing manufacturing sectors. It has accounted for more than a third of all new U.S. electric generation in recent years.

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I know wind power’s success story firsthand. Iowa was the first state to generate 20 percent of its electricity from wind. Now, wind supports as many as 5,000 Iowa jobs, and $11 million in annual land lease payments to Iowa farmers. Iowa wind has prompted $300 million in private investment in Iowa manufacturing facilities.

This success story is spreading across the country. Low taxes have helped wind’s manufacturing sector grow 12-fold — to more than 400 factories in 43 states. Wind industry leaders know how to expand this business and provide more U.S. jobs.

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[libinnyandia]

1. Steve King is more interested in cutting taxes than protecting the envoronment.