Romney Promises To End Federal Wind Energy Subsidies

Wind turbines aren't built to generate electricity. They're built to generate subsidies. As of about a year ago, there were 14,000 fully functional wind turbines sitting idle because their federal subsidies expired. 

Romney has promised to end that subsidy.

Mitt Romney’s campaign said Monday that he wants longstanding tax credits that help finance wind energy projects to expire at year’s end, providing a stark political contrast with President Obama, who is pushing Congress to renew the incentive.

Campaign aides confirmed that Romney wants the quick demise of the credits, which will lapse in less than six months absent congressional action, ending uncertainty about how he wants to phase out the credits.

“He will allow the wind credit to expire, end the stimulus boondoggles, and create a level playing field on which all sources of energy can compete on their merits,” Shawn McCoy, a spokesman for Romney’s Iowa campaign, said in a statement to The Des Moines Register.

“Wind energy will thrive wherever it is economically competitive, and wherever private sector competitors with far more experience than the president believe the investment will produce results,” McCoy said.