Does the government subsidize wind energy?
Nearly every energy technology is subsidized and wind energy is no exception. Wind energy receives a Production Tax Credit (PTC) that is adjusted for inflation and is currently valued at 2.1 cents for each kilowatt hour generated over the first 10 years of the project. This credit reduces the federal tax liability of a wind energy facility, but is not a subsidy of public money flowing to the wind energy facility owner. According to a study prepared for the National Commission on Energy Policy, federal energy subsidies for the year 2003 for all types of energy combined ranged from $37 billion to $64 billion; wind energy accounted for less than 1 percent of the total.
