As the U.S. Congress approved a plan Tuesday to veer away from the “fiscal cliff,” wind energy advocates embraced the bill’s extension of a wind production tax credit that was set to expire at the end of 2012.

The one-year extension of the credit, which gives wind companies a rebate of 2.2 cents for every kilowatt hour produced,  would cover all projects that start construction in 2013. The bill awaits President Obama’s signature.

The wind power industry decried the tax credit’s expiration as the end of the year approached, and some companies laid off workers in anticipation. The American Wind Energy Association said that the preservation of the credit will save up to 37,000 jobs, and allow the