A key tax incentive for wind energy was not included in a draft U.S. Senate bill released today. Members of Iowa’s congressional delegation have promised to work on extending the provision.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said there’s no reason to not include the Renewable Electricity Tax Credit, which was created in 1992 for energy produced by wind and other renewable sources.

“There’s no fair rationale for leaving wind energy out of the chairman’s mark,” he said in a statement. “There’s a significant amount of bipartisan, bicameral support for the wind-tax provisions.”

Teenty-six senators and 118 House members — including all of Iowa’s representatives— wrote to senior leadership in the Senate and House Speaker John Boehner last month.

The credit rewards the power generated by wind farms based on how much energy is produced.

President and CEO of MidAmerican William Ferhman said in a previous Daily Iowan article the credit made the company’s $1.9 billion wind energy project in Iowa possible.

Grassley said he will file an amendment to include the credit later this week when the bill comes up in the Senate Finance committee.

— by Brent Griffiths