Star-Tribune Editorial Board

Wyoming is in a great position to capitalize on the demand for renewable energy. But as it does in so many other areas, partisan politics in Washington, D.C., is threatening to stall development of the state's abundant wind resources.

Congress has already hurt the emerging industry by only passing temporary extensions of a federal production tax credit for "utility scale" wind development. Investors want the assurance that the tax credit isn't going away, so some have been reluctant to give the green light to major construction projects.

The tax credit is scheduled to expire at the end of the year, but the Senate recently rejected a bill that contained another extension. The provision has bipartisan support, but many senators, including Wyoming's Mike Enzi and John Barrasso, said they couldn't vote for the bill because it was loaded with other energy tax measures they didn't want to endorse.

As long as Democrats and Republicans keep pitting tax breaks for established fossil-fuel industries against tax credits for renewable energy industries, wind power will continue to suffer. What's needed is a vote just on the tax credit for wind energy, which Enzi is co-sponsoring.

In an interview with Star-Tribune energy reporter Dustin Bleizeffer, private wind developer Bruce Morley put what's at stake in plain terms: Without the extension, "This growing industry will come to a complete halt."

Wyoming can't afford to let that happen. Utilities in many states, including Colorado, are rushing to meet state-mandated deadlines for boosting renewable energy. Our state can capitalize on the situation, but only if developers can make firm plans with the investment banking community to build projects already on the drawing board.

Wind now only provides about 1 percent of the nation's electricity, and it certainly will never replace production from fossil fuels. But according to the U.S. Department of Energy, wind could provide up to 20 percent of the nation's electricity by 2030. That will require creating an estimated half-million new jobs in the United States.

Hundreds of wind turbines are now under construction in Wyoming, and electrical power producers are ready to build 850 megawatts of new electrical generation in Wyoming - most of it from wind. One megawatt can power about 750 homes.

The University of Wyoming has authorized initial planning for a wind energy research center, which could position the state as a leader in technology for a vital, emerging alternative energy industry.

But all of those efforts will be wasted as long as partisan politics keeps putting up roadblocks to development. Wyoming's congressional delegation needs to do everything it can to extend the wind tax credit.