GOP’s ‘Cruel and Unusual’ Tax Plan Cuts Wind Forecast in Half

House Republicans’ proposed tax-reform plan would slice wind development in half, according to a forecast Nov. 3 by Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

The London-based research group had expected the U.S. to add 38 gigawatts of new wind power through 2020. Based on the proposal released Thursday, that figure would fall to 19 gigawatts because it slashes a key federal subsidy.

The plan would cut the federal production tax credit for wind power by about a third, from $24 per megawatt-hour in 2017 dollars to $15 per megawatt-hour. It would also change the requirements to qualify for the subsidy, which ...