America's Major Consumer Brands Call on Congress

America's Major Consumer Brands, Including Nike, Starbucks and Campbell Soup, Call on Congress to Extend Wind Energy Tax Credit'

WASHINGTON, Feb. 15 /CSRwire/ - Staples, Starbucks, Nike, Levi Strauss & Co., Campbell Soup, Yahoo and other large corporate purchasers of renewable energy delivered a letter today to Congressional leadership asking for an extension of the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind power – scheduled to expire in December 2012.

The letter calls on Congress to include an extension of the PTC in this week’s payroll tax-cut extension legislation. A ‘no’ vote on the extension will immediately threaten over 400 wind manufacturing facilities in 43 states that risk layoffs and shutdowns for lack of orders.

The letter was signed by 15 companies, many of them members of Business for Innovative Climate & Clean Energy (BICEP). Some of the companies signing the letter, including Starbucks and Staples, get over half of their US electricity from wind and other renewable energy sources.

“The PTC has enabled the wind industry to slash wind energy costs – 90 percent since 1980 – a big reason why companies like ours are buying increasing amounts of wind energy,” the letter states. “Failure to extend the PTC for wind would tax our companies and thousands of others like us that purchase significant amounts renewable energy and hurt our bottom line at a time when the economy is struggling to recover.”

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ENDS