"A one-year extension of a key tax credit for the
wind industry made it into the fiscal cliff deal the U.S. Senate and House
passed on Tuesday.
"The tax credit, which has been a major driver for
wind development across the U.S. over the past two decades, is worth 2.2 cents
per kilowatt-hour of energy produced by new wind installations for their first
10 years of operation.
"A White House news release confirmed that the
production tax credit extension is included in the Senate package that the House
also passed. According to industry insiders, it would allow any project that
begins construction in 2013 to claim the credit, even if it goes online in 2014.
The tax credit that expired on Monday could only be claimed for projects that
went online in 2012."