Protesters to Cornyn: Support Wind Credits
Texas gets nearly 10 percent of its power from wind farms like this one in Nolan County. Photo courtesy flickr.com/pitmanra/
By Elizabeth Trovall
A small group gathered outside Sen. John Cornyn’s Austin office this afternoon, calling for the renewal of tax credits for wind energy.
The credits, which have spurred wind energy production, are set to expire at the end of this year. Wind power makes up almost 10 percent of the state’s electricity.
“There’s thousands of people employed in the wind industry, in everything from construction workers to truck drivers bringing the wind blades out to west Texas, people in the ports offloading them, so there’s lots of people employed,” said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas, which organized the rally. “If we remove these tax credits, it’s going to mean a lot of people out of work.”
Cornyn has voted against renewing the tax credits in the past. Congress continues to debate, but it’s not clear whether another vote will come before the end of the year.
