Congress passed an expansion of the wind production tax credit (PTC) in the recent "fiscal cliff" legislation, but employee layoffs and wind project cancellations continue. Why? Because, as we have previously written, the market has become saturated in areas where renewable portfolio standard mandates have been reached--or more than reached--and issues surrounding the use of wind are becoming more apparent including costs, visual and noise pollution, bird kills, and havoc to other more reliable and affordable technologies due to the instability it causes to the electric grid. U.S. energy policy as represented by the PTC's expansion continues the "reality debt" being accrued by the government, which ultimately will have to be paid by U.S. citizens.
