Renewable energy tax credit expansion amended into wind bill

A bill that would eliminate the zero-emission standard for renewable energy tax credits was amended April 27 into a bill affecting wind energy taxation.

LB360, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Abbie Cornett, would clarify that depreciable tangible personal property used to generate electricity from wind would continue to be exempt from property taxes, but real property would not be exempt.

The bill also would limit nameplate capacity tax credits to property taxes paid on depreciable personal property that exceed what would have been required under the nameplate capacity tax.

The bill would take effect Jan. 1, 2010.

Lincoln Sen. Ken Haar offered an amendment, adopted 38-0, that incorporated provisions of LB359. His amendment would strike language that limits renewable energy tax credits to zero-emission facilities, which are facilities whose operation results in no pollution or emissions certified as harmful to the environment by the state Department of Environmental Quality. An eligible facility must use wind, moving water, solar, geothermal, fuel cell, methane gas or photovoltaic technology as its energy source.

The amendment also would decrease the maximum amount of renewable energy tax credits from $750,000 to $50,000. The credit currently is 0.075 cent per kilowatt-hour for electricity generated.

Haar said his amendment would open up the credits to methane digesters, which can produce emissions that render them ineligible under a zero-emission standard.

O’Neill Sen. Tyson Larson offered an amendment he later withdrew to eliminate credits for the amount of personal property tax paid on wind facilities prior to the enactment of the nameplate capacity tax that exceed the new tax.

LB360 advanced on a voice vote.