Brownback at odds with Romney over wind energy tax credit
Topeka ? Gov. Sam Brownback is at odds with his Republican Party presidential candidate Mitt Romney over tax credits to support wind power.
Romney opposes extension of the production tax credit that has helped build wind capacity in the United States, especially in Kansas.
Brownback supports the tax credit as does President Barack Obama.
Brownback said Kansas will see about $3 billion in wind energy investment from the end of last year through the end of this year, which he added is the most in the country “by far.”
He said he hadn’t looked at the specifics of Romney’s position on the wind energy tax credit, but added that it is part of a larger fight over how to fix the federal budget.
Brownback said he supports extending the tax credit for now and phasing it out over three or four years.
“That is what I will be arguing if there is a Romney election and that is what I will be arguing if there’s an Obama election,” he said.
Earlier the week, the U.S. Department of Energy released a report that showed significant growth in wind energy jobs and investment and called for Congress to extend the production tax credit.