In a move that Democratic Senator Mark Udall claims could destroy the wind energy industry in the US, the extension of a federal tax break for wind energy production failed in the Senate on Tuesday.

The vote was 49-49 on an amendment to another bill, but it had needed 60 votes to pass.

The tax break will expire at the end of this year unless supporters find a way to get it extended. This particular kind of tax break is called a producer tax credit. It helps offset the cost of electricity production during a wind farm’s first 10 years. Experts and politicians say that it’s helped grow the wind industry in Colorado.

The failure to extend this tax credit is a major threat to wind farm development and it will take away the jobs of those who make wind turbines in the U.S., according to the American Wind Energy Association.