Moratorium on state wind energy tax credit cut in half
Enid News and Eagle |Joe Malan|June 9, 2010
A moratorium on a state wind energy tax credit still will go into effect July 1, but the length of time it will last has been cut in half. Curt Roggow, government relations consultant for The Wind Coalition and the city of Enid, said the state's moratorium on the production tax credit has been reduced from two years to one year, following state budget talks last week.
A moratorium on a state wind energy tax credit still will go into effect July 1, but the length of time it will last has been cut in half. Curt Roggow, government relations consultant for The Wind Coalition and the city of Enid, said the state's moratorium on the production tax credit has been reduced from two years to one year, following state budget talks last week.
ENID - A moratorium on a state wind energy tax credit still will go into effect July 1, but the length of time it will last has been cut in half.
Curt Roggow, government relations consultant for The Wind Coalition and the city of Enid, said the state's moratorium on the production tax credit has been reduced from two years to one year, following state budget talks last week.
"What we basically ended up with was a one-year moratorium," Roggow said.
The production tax credit gives wind energy companies a half-cent per kilowatt hour credit.
The credit would be beneficial for companies such as RES Americas and TradeWind Energy, which have leased farmland in Garfield County to construct wind turbines when a deal with an electrical …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]ENID - A moratorium on a state wind energy tax credit still will go into effect July 1, but the length of time it will last has been cut in half.
Curt Roggow, government relations consultant for The Wind Coalition and the city of Enid, said the state's moratorium on the production tax credit has been reduced from two years to one year, following state budget talks last week.
"What we basically ended up with was a one-year moratorium," Roggow said.
The production tax credit gives wind energy companies a half-cent per kilowatt hour credit.
The credit would be beneficial for companies such as RES Americas and TradeWind Energy, which have leased farmland in Garfield County to construct wind turbines when a deal with an electrical supply company is reached.
Senate Bill 1267, which originally outlined the two-year moratorium on the tax credit, stated, "No credit otherwise authorized by the provisions of this section may be claimed for any event, transaction, investment, expenditure or other act occurring on or after July 1, 2010, for which the credit would otherwise be allowable. The provisions of this subsection shall cease to be operative on July 1, 2012. Beginning July 1, 2012, the credit authorized by this section may be claimed for any event, transaction, investment or expenditure or other act occurring on or after July 1, 2012, according to the provisions of this section."
The moratorium was revised in House Bill 3024, which now states, "No credit otherwise authorized by the provisions of this section may be claimed for any event, transaction, investment, expenditure or other act occurring on or after July 1, 2010, for which the credit would otherwise be allowable until the provisions of this subsection shall cease to be operative on July 1, 2011. Beginning July 1, 2011, the credit authorized by this section may be claimed for any event, transaction, investment, expenditure or other act occurring on or after July 1, 2010, according to the provisions of this section.
"Any tax credits which accrue during the period of July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, may not be claimed for any period prior to the taxable year beginning January 1, 2012. No credits which accrue during the period of July 1, 2010, through June 30, 2011, may be used to file an amended tax return for any taxable year prior to the taxable year beginning January 1, 2012."
"We're very pleased with the added language," Roggow said. "Basically, (we were) able to make those changes without disrupting the budget agreement, which is very important. It's a win-win situation for the industry and the state.
"I guess you could say it's a "wind-wind" situation."
Brent Kisling, executive director of Enid Regional Development Alliance, also was pleased the moratorium ended up being shorter than what was originally proposed.
"I would like to give a lot of credit to Curt Roggow and his efforts to get the bill changed in the last hours of the legislative session," Kisling said. "I truly believe we were on the brink of losing major investment possibilities."