Cattaraugus County has retained its ability to tax alternative energy systems - including wind farms, solar energy systems and on-farm methane digesters - with a 16-2 vote for passage of a local law Tuesday. The law applies to facilities within the county, including as many as four potential wind farm projects under consideration, and effectively disarms a state tax code provision exempting these energy sources from taxes. ...The vote came after residents and elected officials from the towns of Freedom, Machias and Farmersville stated their opposition in a 45-minute public hearing. Most said they were told the IDA's payment-in-lieu-of- taxes (PILOT) agreements will unfairly take a share of the wind farms' monetary payments.

The Senate today is expected to approve a $17 billion measure that would extend tax credits for renewable energy sources by hitting up oil and gas companies for higher taxes. ...The Bush administration opposes the language that targets the oil and gas industry. "At a time when consumers are already struggling with the high price of gasoline and diesel fuel, Congress should not put additional upward pressure on fuel prices," the White House's Office of Management and Budget said in a statement.

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved about $18 billion of renewable-energy tax credits after repeated failed attempts to do so this year. The 93-2 vote cleared a major hurdle for extending a set of tax credits for businesses and residents investing in renewable energy, from building and operating power plants to installing small wind turbines on residential properties. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have tried and failed numerous times this year to extend the tax incentives, which are set to expire at the end of 2008.

The U.S. Senate could vote as early as Thursday on an energy bill that would provide $17 billion in renewable-energy tax incentives. Solar, wind and other renewable-energy investors and executives have been anxiously waiting for Congress to extend a set of investment tax credits that would offset 30 percent of the cost of a solar or wind-farm project. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have tried and failed numerous times this year to extend the tax incentives, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

The head of GE Energy, the conglomerate's unit that makes everything from wind turbines to nuclear reactors, flew down to Washington again today to plead with senators to extend tax credits for renewable energy. The credits, still crucial to making clean energy competitive, are set to expire at the end of the year, despite at least eight tries so far to renew them. ..."I'm prepared to come down every week to say the same thing," he told us. "If the production tax credit expires in the U.S., the wind industry will collapse. As the clock ticks, you put jobs at risk."

With the looming possibility of Wind Energy Conversion Properties (wind farms) in Fremont County, officials are thinking ahead and taking action. Fremont County Assessor Karen Berry approached the Fremont County Board of Supervisors on Aug. 14 and proposed an ordinance be placed on the books pertaining to the assessment of wind farms. If the ordinance is passed, wind towers will be a local assessment when, and if, they come to Fremont County. "If we don't pass this ordinance and wind towers come in, they will be considered a utility and the state assesses utilities.

Money doesn't grow on trees, but it may grow on windmills. The developers of the four proposed wind farms in Jefferson County could capitalize on tax breaks and incentives at the federal, state and local levels through their projects. Opponents say the subsidies take taxpayer money and give it to those who already are rich. "It's the taxpayers and electric customers that are taken to the cleaners," said Glenn R. Schleede, a widely known wind power opponent who has worked for electric utilities and the federal Office of Management and Budget.

Congress is putting the short-term future of renewable energy companies in jeopardy even as the presidential candidates and most lawmakers hail windmills, solar panels and biofuels as long-term solutions to high gasoline prices and global warming. ...Proponents of wind power, a nascent industry that relies on skittish investors, are in a similar predicament. ...The production tax credit would cost $7 billion and two solar investment credits would cost $2.7 billion over 10 years.

While Randolph's chairman is optimistic about a 145-megawatt wind farm development, he's bothered by how much money - or rather how little - the town will get in the deal. ...Under the Wisconsin Department of Revenue's shared revenue utility payment guidelines, $2,000 per megawatt of power generated is split between the county and town. The county gets two-thirds, while the town gets one-third. For a 145-megawatt project, that would provide roughly $96,667 per year to be split between the towns of Randolph and Scott, which also would house some We Energies' turbines, while the county would take in about $193,332.

At Tuesday's Board of Education meeting at Jefferson Middle School, school officials decided to opt out of Section 487 of the Real Property Tax Law after hearing from Bill Daly and Rich Dixon of the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency. The law makes the installation of energy improvement systems - solar power, windmills - exempt from taxes. By opting out, the district is placing the IDA in charge of negotiations regarding alternative energy should a company wants to develop wind energy in the county, Daly said. The IDA will be responsible for negotiating tax agreements for the county, city, towns and school districts.

How big a deal is two cents? Well, it's a big deal if you're trying to produce wind energy. A federal production tax credit of 1.9 cents per kilowatt hour is set to expire at the end of the year. Wind energy producers generally expect lawmakers to renew the credit, but Congress has yet to act. With time running out, the wind power industry is scrambling. ...Xcel's Frank Prager said the end of the tax credit on December 31, is rippling through the wind industry. He said many U.S. companies are rushing to finish projects before the deadline.

For the first five years, starting with last year, the 195-turbine wind farm's payments are primarily based on the actual amount that would be paid in taxes on the 140 Phase I turbines. Since the assessed value of the turbines is essentially fixed, a drop in combined tax rates would ultimately result in a smaller payment. Assuming the other major wind farm beneficiaries - the county and towns of Martinsburg and Harrisburg - choose to keep their levies stable, as well, the payment amount will certainly decrease, Mr. McAuliffe said. However, the extent won't be known until county and town tax rates are set in late fall, he said.

Wind turbines are generating more than electricity in Coke County. They're also producing significantly more tax dollars for the Robert Lee Independent School District. And that's the problem. Under the state's "Robin Hood" school funding formula that takes from more affluent and gives to less affluent districts, Robert Lee ISD could end up benefiting little from the cash windfall. ...Under the present system, the state "recaptures" funds from property-wealthy districts and uses them to assist with financing public education in school districts deemed property poor.

The two farms, Bartlett reported, represent a $250 million SUEZ Renewable Energy investment. SUEZ will receive incentives of up to $2.8 million over 10 years from its Norway wind farm, based on a one cent per kilowatt hour rate. The provincial government's 30-megawatt wind farm at East Point qualifies for up to $9 million in federal funds over 10 years. How much government incentive SUEZ Renewable Energy NA will receive for energy generated at West Cape wind farm was not disclosed. Bartlett noted only power sold into the domestic market qualifies. Much of the electricity generated at West Cape is destined for the export market.

The request was submitted by Chicago-based Invenergy Wind LLC., which has constructed 66 wind turbines in the Grand Ridge Wind Farm project south of Marseilles, Seneca and Ottawa, and plans to place 200 more turbines in the area. The approximately 17.5-acre E-Zone extends from south of Ottawa to Marseilles and Seneca in La Salle County, and east through Grundy County to Morris.

The Westminster government has been accused of putting the development of green energy at risk, by shelving plans to subsidise projects in the Scottish islands. It means companies setting up renewable energy schemes in Shetland, Orkney and the Western Isles face paying up to 40 per cent of their annual turnover on crippling transmission charges. The government had planned to bring in a "cap" on the charges to make sure the renewables industry was not put off from developing in these key locations.

JPMorgan analysts are recommending investors take a neutral stance on electric utilities and independent power producers, a less upbeat position than the securities firm took earlier this year. ...The firm also said it has received calls from a number of investors worried about T. Boone Pickens' high-profile plan supporting wind power could hurt power prices.

A crucial argument about the best way to combat global warming comes down to two alternatives that may seem deceptively simple: • Force utilities to make a certain percentage of electricity from renewable resources, such as solar and wind. • Make utilities pay a stiff fine for the greenhouse gases they produce from coal and natural gas, then let the utilities figure out the most economical way of reducing their emissions. ...The debate boils down to three key points: Are renewable standards the best way to deal with greenhouse gases? How expensive are renewables, particularly in the Southeast? And what's the best renewable for Florida?

[Stewart] Umholtz, Tazewell County state's attorney, last week said he will pursue legal action against his own County Board's decision to extend an existing enterprise zone, allowing a wind farm development to be eligible for a sales tax abatement. He seeks an Illinois Attorney General's Office opinion on the matter. One of the points Umholtz disagrees with is the issuance of a 3-foot extension many local governments, including the city of Peoria and Tazewell County, utilize to extend their enterprise zones.