AUSTIN — Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released the paper, The Production Tax Credit: Corporate Subsidies & Renewable Energy written by Angela C. Erickson.

“After 25 years and tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidies, it is time to end the Production Tax Credit,” said Erickson. “Profitable companies don’t need the money and the handouts provide no clear benefits to taxpayers or energy consumers.”

Bill Peacock, TPPF’s vice president of research and director of the End Renewable Subsidies project, offered the following statement.

“Our new research highlights the billions of dollars taken from American taxpayers and given to renewable energy generators through the PTC. This transfer of wealth is going on at the state level too. Just last week, generators and wind industry representatives asked the Texas Public Utilities Commission to impose an electricity tax on Texas consumers of up to $4 billion a year in order to increase their revenues.”

The paper’s key points include:

  • The Production Tax Credit (PTC) is a federal subsidy that provides a $24 tax credit to each megawatt-hour of renewable energy sold.
  • The PTC has already cost taxpayers more than $20 billion since 2098, with a projected total cost of more than $65 billion before the PTC is scheduled to phase out around 2029.
  • The PTC distorts electricity markets by encouraging wind energy producers to accept negative prices.
  • The PTC primarily benefits only a few energy corporations, with just 15 parent companies accounting for more than three-fourths of all PTC eligibility from 2007-2016.
  • NextEra Energy leads the list with $5.7 billion of eligibility. Also on the list are NRG Energy ($1.1 billion), BP ($913 million), and Exelon ($528 million).

For the full paper, please visit:
https://www.texaspolicy.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Erickson2018Final1.pdf​