MILITARY VETS FOR WIND

Vets group: Wind energy critical to America's security

April 27, 2012 (Wind Energy Weekly)

"…Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) joined [retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General John Castellaw; Mike Breen, vice president of the Truman National Security Project; and Jeff Duff of Airstreams Renewables, a company that makes a point of hiring veterans] to talk about the importance and urgency of extending the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy… The group discussed how critical renewing the PTC is to America’s economic and national security.

"The PTC, they said, is an important federal policy incentive without which 37,000 jobs and $10-20 billion of domestic investment would be lost next year and thereafter…"

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"…Thompson, a Vietnam Army veteran and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which [just] met on the PTC and other possible tax extensions…[said that extending the] tax incentives will give businesses certainty, help create and save more than 50,000 American jobs in the next four years, and allow [the U.S.] to strengthen our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil…

"Wind power is a critical part of America’s energy independence. The growth of wind energy, which produces enough electricity to power 12 million homes, has been fueled by the PTC, wind power’s primary, performance-based policy incentive…Breen, who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq...[said the U.S. would] need sources of energy [it] can rely on in the 21st Century…"