Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet today hailed the announcement by Vestas Corporation that it would “ramp up” production at its Pueblo plant, resulting in more than 100 jobs by the end of March.
“Vestas’ expansion is great news for the region and our state. It means more than 100 jobs for workers in southern Colorado and more business for companies throughout the supply chain,” Bennet said. “I’m pleased to see the wind production tax credit having a tangible effect on jobs in our state.”
In its announcement, Vestas executive Tony Knopp said that the extension of the wind production tax credit was an “important factor” in this expansion.
Bennet has led efforts in Congress to extend the wind energy PTC. He led eight of the nine members of the Colorado Congressional delegation in a bipartisan letter calling for extension of the tax credit and has introduced two bipartisan amendments with Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS), cosponsored by Senator Mark Udall, to extend the PTC. He has also partnered with Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Udall to introduce the American Energy and Job Promotion Act, a bipartisan bill to extend the PTC for wind and several other renewable energy technologies. In July, he successfully led a bipartisan group of senators urging the Senate Finance Committee to include an extension of the PTC in a tax extenders bill the committee was considering. While the extension of the PTC was included in a much larger bill that Bennet eventually could not support, he continues to believe it is a worthy investment and should have been passed much earlier in the year.
Colorado generates the third highest percentage of power from wind of any state in the nation. It is home to several major wind energy developers and wind turbine manufacturing facilities, employing upwards of 6,000 workers statewide.