Washington, DC — Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley was called “the father of the modern wind industry” in his 2016 campaign ad, which featured him in a hard hat atop an Iowa wind turbine.
Now, the US House version of the so-called Big Beautiful Bill would significantly scale back or sunset tax credits on renewable energies, including wind and solar. In a conference call with Iowa reporters this week, Grassley was asked if he’s comfortable with those changes that could kill future wind projects.
Without the extension of earlier tax cuts, Grassley says taxes could rise by some four-and-a-half trillion dollars. As for the portion of the spending bill dealing with wind energy, Grassley says those incentives were doomed a decade ago and he managed to get them extended. He recalls that several of his colleagues wanted to eliminate the wind energy tax credits in 2015.
Grassley suggests he will again work to defend the wind energy industry and will seek out a compromise in the Republican megabill.
Grassley says he’s proud that Iowa gets almost 60 percent of its power from wind energy. He’s hopeful the Senate can pass the spending bill before the July 4th recess.
