By Elizabeth Morrisey
SCBIZ Daily Staff

GREENVILLE -- Wind energy proponents were happy to see the Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit extension passed by Congress, which means good things for large wind energy equipment manufacturers such as General Electric Co.

“If it wasn’t extended, it would at some point affect us,” said Mark Reilly, communications manager for GE Energy in Greenville.

Without an extension on the tax credit, wind farm developers would have been impacted, which would trickle down to GE’s production, he added. GE continues to study the use of wind turbines to produce green energy throughout the United States.

The tax credit was set to expire the end of this year. The extension allows the 2.1-cent per kilowatt-hour tax credit to continue through 2009.

“This will result in tens of thousands of people keeping jobs and hundreds of thousands getting new jobs,” said Jaime Steve, legislative director with the American Wind Energy Association. “It’s a real growth industry.”

Last year, 35% of new electricity was from wind production, he added.

“Anyone in the wind industry will benefit and it’s even more important to the small and medium companies. However, the extension is only for one year, so it’s hard for businesses to plan on a one-year cycle,” Steve said. “A one-year credit doesn’t support long-term growth.”

Therefore, he said, the AWEA plans to “come right back and do it again next year.” It is hoping for a longer extension next time around.

Some of GE’s top executives went before Congress to testify about the importance of an extension. Reilly said GE Energy would have preferred an extension for more than one year, but says he’s grateful to see any kind of extension.

“We weren’t sure it was going to happen,” he said.

Both political parties expressed support for the renewable energy tax credits. However, Senate Democrats wanted any tax breaks to be offset by new tax revenue and Republicans wanted provisions for offshore drilling to be included.

The extension ended up being added to the $700 billion financial bailout bill.