Gosar defends solar tax incentives
‘All of the above’ policy on energy needed, he says
FLORENCE — U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar mopped his brow as he strolled past a line of upturned solar cells baking in the afternoon sun. The Republican congressman, a proponent of shrinking government spending, was nonetheless touting the benefits of federal tax incentives for renewable energy.
“I’ve always been and always will be a person that believes in an ‘all of the above’ energy policy,” Gosar said. “We have to look at all our energy policies so that we’re utilizing the best of solar, the best of geothermal, the best of wind, but also our carbon-based fuels.”
Gosar visited the solar plant on a four-day tour of his congressional district. It stretches from the Nevada line to Yuma to part of Pinal County, a swath larger than South Carolina.
The congressman flew by helicopter to the project about an hour’s drive south of Phoenix, passing housing subdivisions bordered by alfalfa fields. Copper Crossing, built three years ago by the Spanish energy company Iberdrola Renewables, generates power for up to 3,700 homes near Florence.
GOP leaders have encouraged members to tour energy facilities at home, among other photo-worthy destinations, over the next few weeks and avoid chatting too much about the immigration debate.
As Gosar walked through the solar field, Iberdrola officials told him they worried Congress would cut tax credits for solarplant construction, as lawmakers in Washington gear up for what could be a major tax overhaul this fall. The incentives helped Iberdrola build Copper Crossing, officials said. The company also received $25 million from a federal economicstimulus grant.
“The two things we need the most in our business are stability and parity,” said Art Sasse, Iberdrola spokesman. “By that, I’m talking about parity with all energy sectors.”
Gosar said he supports granting solar companies tax incentives, similar to those given to oil and gas companies. He promised that if GOP lawmakers cut solar tax credits in their reform legislation, he won’t support it unless every other energy sector loses tax incentives as well.
Gosar, a Prescott Republican, defended the tax credits as a way to encourage renewableenergy production while still allowing the market to work. He said tax incentives are more fair and transparent than the government grants given to companies like Solyndra, which went belly up in recent years.
“(Tax credits) are not picking winners and losers,” he said.
Later in the day, speaking to a half-dozen high-powered executives at the headquarters of the Arizona Mining Association, Gosar made an unusual pitch: Mining companies should partner with renewable-energy companies like Iberdrola to promote their products.
Gosar is a strong proponent of mining, most notably a proposed copper mine near Superior known as Resolution Copper, which would be the largest in North America if it received congressional approval.
“When I talk to schoolkids, I tell them, ‘You know, each of those wind turbines has 5 tons of copper?’ ” he said, adding that Copper Crossing used 80 miles of copper wiring.
“(Mining) was our past. And it’s taking us into the future,” Gosar said.
Though regulations are necessary, Gosar said, he suggested that the Obama administration and environmentalists are overly concerned about the risk of proposed copper and uranium projects in Arizona and pollution from the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station near Page.
“We’re not here to rape and pillage. We’re here to utilize (natural resources) wisely,” Gosar said.