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done "almost nothing" to compete with Kansas, Oklahoma or South Dakota, all of which offer tax benefits for wind energy. The company is looking to build 118 turbines in Dixon County, on the South Dakota border.
• Nebraska ranks as the third-best wind-producing state in the nation, but 26th in the energy it could produce with the equipment currently installed, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. Nebraska lags behind its neighboring states: Iowa, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and Kansas.
• Costanza said Nebraska has trailed its neighboring states because it doesn't offer as many wind-energy tax incentives. He pointed to Kansas, which shields wind companies from both property and sales and use taxes.
• "Wind will be built, over time, in the wind belt -- the Dakotas down to the Texas Panhandle," said Costanza, the company's executive vice president business development. "But it is competitive. Other states are doing things, and Nebraska has done almost nothing."
• The first-round vote in Nebraska came one day after Iowa formally approved $18 million in tax credits for Facebook to build its data center in Altoona, a Des Moines suburb. Kearney, Neb., was vying for the project, but a Facebook executive told Iowa reporters on Tuesday that the state's reputation as a wind-energy leader played a big role in the company's decision.
• Nebraska currently charges a sales tax on all equipment and materials used in wind-energy projects. The state ranks fourth nationwide in its ability to produce electricity from wind power.
• Environmental groups and the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry have both endorsed the bill.
• Sen. Galen Hadley of Kearney, who introduced a similar bill that was merged into the final legislation, said the tax incentives would put Nebraska on a level playing field with other states. Hadley said the bill would generate jobs in rural Nebraska, and he argued that the possible wind-energy project could not wait until next year.
• Sen. Annette Dubas of Fullerton said the bill builds on an existing push by rural lawmakers.
• The renewable energy bill has drawn criticism from Republican Gov. Dave Heineman. When the Legislature's Revenue Committee voted 5-3 to advance the bill in March, Heineman said he was "very disappointed" and accused supporters of supporting "special interest tax breaks" to out-of-state companies.
• Lathrop, a Democrat, is considering a run for governor.
• Some lawmakers said they supported the general push for wind energy but challenged the bill's timing.

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