Colorado, we did it!

Statement

Dear Fellow Coloradan,

For many years, you and I have been fighting to make Colorado the country's leader in clean energy production. The latest chapter in that fight was six months ago, when I pledged to deliver a speech on the Senate floor nearly every day we were in session about how the wind Production Tax Credit and the wind energy industry have boosted our economy and created jobs in Colorado and across our great nation.

Two short hours after the ball dropped and 2013 began, our efforts finally paid off. The U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted, as part of the fiscal cliff deal, to extend the PTC and help wind energy manufacturers create jobs and invest in American manufacturing and Made-in-America energy. The U.S. House of Representatives followed suit the next day.

I was humbled to have Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the Senate and House join me in my fight to invest in wind energy. What started out as a series of speeches became a grassroots movement. And I have you to thank for your support and words of encouragement.

During my tour of our great nation, from Colorado to the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest and the Atlantic seaboard, I had the honor of sharing with my colleagues and the nation how wind energy touches each and every one of us. And you joined me in telling the nation about how wind energy moves us forward: 9,172 Americans signed my petition to Congress and shared their stories of how wind energy affects their daily lives.

Coloradans and families everywhere understand that when we invest in wind energy, we create jobs and strengthen our energy security. Extending the PTC puts us in a better position to compete against countries like China that are seeking to take our place on the cutting edge of developing and using clean, renewable energy sources.

We still have work to do. We need to create a comprehensive energy strategy that embraces wind and other renewables alongside our more traditional energy sources, but extending the PTC is a great achievement and welcome news for this job-creating industry.

Please join me in celebrating this victory by telling your local newspaper, in a letter to the editor, what extending the wind PTC means to you and your hopes for what 2013 will bring for our pursuit of true energy independence.

Source