The production tax credit for renewable energy is already a hot item in this election season, and it's starting to look like a battle scene in a movie. Set to expire in December, the incentive program is a political hockey puck. Presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his running mate Paul Ryan are, the last time we checked, against it and the Obama administration supports it. And incidentally, the country's largest nuclear power plant operator doesn't seem to like it much either. (Surprised? We didn't think so.)

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But more supporters are lining up to fight for an extension to the wind energy production tax credit, and the latest group to sign on is an impressive list of

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In a letter addressed to congressional leaders Wednesday, the signers said "The wind power industry has been a bright spot for employment and has, despite the recession, created one of America's fastest-growing manufacturing sectors. However, even the threat of the PTC's expiration is already causing thousands of layoffs." The letter mentions Vestas and Gamesa as examples of companies who have or will lay off employees, and many more wind companies have announced layoffs as a result of the uncertainty over the tax credit.

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The letter also said "Allowing the PTC to expire would severely damage U.S. competitiveness and divert hundreds of billions of investment dollars away from the U.S. to competitors with inferior resources but stronger policies."

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One of the letter signers, Ted Wheeler, Oregon's state treasurer, is responsible for the management of $72.5 billion in state funds. Oregon also is the North American headquarters for major wind companies Vestas and Iberdrola. He commented "Renewable energy generation opportunities beckon from border-to-border in Oregon, and they promise to produce not only clean and sustainable power but also crucial employment and investments in key infrastructure."

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