As wind energy becomes more economically viable in Oklahoma, momentum is building on a political movement to limit tax breaks to wind farms in the state.
As StateImpact reports, last week a panel that decides Oklahoma’s tax incentives decided to curb the credits being given to wind operations. The Incentive Review Commission has reported on ten different wind incentives under review this year.
Collectively, those incentives reduce the amount of money the state takes in each year by about $150 million. That’s no small matter for a state that’s currently over $600 million in the hole.
The wind industry is pushing back against the recommendations to curb their tax breaks. Lance Brown works with the Partnership for Affordable Clean Energy. He said the alliance’s position has been that the state government should encourage wind projects in areas where they work best, “and they work very well in Oklahoma.”