Oklahoma House clears bill to scale back wind tax credits

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – A bill that would reduce the amount of tax subsidies paid to wind producers in Oklahoma has been unanimously approved by the House of Representatives.

The House voted 89-0 on Monday for the bill by Bartlesville Republican Rep. Earl Sears. It now heads to the full Senate for consideration.

Sears said the bill in its current form would reduce by about 70 percent the amount of tax credits wind producers receive, although he acknowledged discussions with the industry are ongoing on the final amount. The credits are paid based on the amount of electricity produced by the facilities.

Oklahoma has several tax incentives for wind production, but the cost of those incentives have skyrocketed because of the growing number of wind farms in the state.