GE blames drop in wind turbine sales on tax uncertainty

General Electric, the nation's largest producer of wind turbines, is blaming a drop in orders on the uncertainty surrounding a wind-production tax credit.

GE’s wind sales fell 37 percent from the second quarter of 2011 to the same quarter in 2012, the company announced Friday in its second-quarter earnings report. Deirdre Latour, a spokeswoman for GE, attributed most of the decrease in sales to the tax credit's uncertain future. 

A slew of smaller wind firms have announced layoffs in recent months, with most listing the wind tax credit as a driving factor. 

The Obama administration has blamed Congress for layoffs in the wind industry and urged the renewal of the tax credit, which pays wind power generators 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney favors phasing out the wind credit, a stance that has drawn the ire of wind advocates in Iowa, the state with the second-most wind generating capacity. 

---