Renewable energy companies could receive refunds of sales taxes paid for qualified projects under a bill heard by the Revenue Committee Feb. 23.<\/p>\n
LB362, introduced by Bellevue Sen. Abbie Cornett, would add a renewable energy tier to the Nebraska Advantage Act. Companies eligible for the proposed seventh tier would include those generating wind, solar, geothermal, hydroelectric and biomass energy.<\/p>\n
The bill as introduced contains placeholders for required investment and employment levels.<\/p>\n
David Levy, representing Midwest Wind Energy and Edison Mission Wind Energy, testified in support of LB362. Wind energy investment has totaled $500 million since 2007, he said. States such as Iowa, which has 10 times more wind production than Nebraska despite having lower wind resources, are out-competing Nebraska due to the state\u2019s tax climate, he said.<\/p>\n
Iowa, Illinois, Kansas and Minnesota charge no sales tax on equipment used for wind projects, Levy said, and Nebraska\u2019s sales tax puts domestic companies at a $3 per megawatt\/hour disadvantage. This constitutes three-fourths of the upfront tax burden for a wind project, he said.<\/p>\n
Levy recommended that the tier\u2019s eligibility levels be $75 million for investment and five permanent jobs.<\/p>\n
James Williams, representing Invenergy Wind Development, spoke in support of the bill. Many power contracts are decided by very slim margins, he said, and offering sales tax refunds would eliminate a competitive advantage that many out-of-state wind facilities have over their Nebraska counterparts.<\/p>\n
Steve Boyer of Third Planet Windpower also testified in favor of LB362. While Nebraska has a community-based energy development program to help smaller energy facilities, he said, adding a new tier to the Nebraska Advantage Act could facilitate large projects.<\/p>\n
No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on LB362.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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