The WindAction Group (www.windAction.org)
Facts, analysis, exposure to industrial wind energy's real impacts
Industry says Wyoming wind taxes tops in Rockies
Wyoming taxes on the wind energy industry would be the highest among Rocky Mountain states if all of Wyoming's pending taxes take effect, according to a new analysis by an industry group.
Library filed under Taxes & Subsidies from Wyoming
Wind farm project not expected to provide much impact money
Unlike recent power plant construction projects in Campbell County, the wind farm being built 35 miles south of Gillette isn't expected to create much impact assistance money for local governments. The Wyoming Industrial Siting Council has said the only communities that will be affected are the town of Wright, Campbell County and the City of Gillette.
Death, taxes and Wyoming wind
Now, visualize row upon row of wind turbines on some of our most precious vistas and landscapes -- the Chugwater Bluffs, the Laramie Range, Elk Mountain, and the Upper North Platte River Valley. This is not the Wyoming we want. If we are not careful, this is the Wyoming we may get. The governor and Legislature have demonstrated good leadership on this issue. This needs to continue.
Wind rules for state lands sail through
Proposed rules for commercial wind-energy production on state trust lands have met with a minimum of concern in a series of hearings across the state. The Office of State Lands and Investments held a hearing in Cheyenne on Thursday on draft rules that will eventually be presented to the Board of Land Commissioners.
In Wyoming, debate swirls on taxing wind industry
With currents of powerful wind gusts whipping across its plains and plateaus, Wyoming has become a new frontier for the wind industry - the latest energy development for a state that only recently experienced a natural gas boom.
Wyoming House gives first OK to wind energy tax
Wyoming House of Representatives gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill that would impose the nation's first state excise tax on wind energy generation. ...Supporters said Wyoming should levy a wind generation tax to provide revenue for state and county governments and to provide regulatory certainty for the burgeoning wind industry.
Panel trims wind tax by two-thirds
The Joint Revenue Committee voted Monday morning to cut the proposed excise tax on wind energy from $3 per megawatt hour to $1 per megawatt hour. Committee members also voted not to collect any taxes until 2012 -- rather than 2011 as initially suggested -- and to not impose any excise taxes on a wind turbine until its third year of operation.
Let wind industry stand on its own
Poor wind farmers, they say if they are taxed it will kill their industry. I say so be it, let it wither and die, the wind industry is so heavily subsidized that it cannot stand on its own. We do not have state income tax, because oil, gas, and coal pay so much in taxes. Wind energy equals higher taxes, does that make anyone feel better?
Windy Wyoming debates excise tax for wind energy
A proposal in Wyoming to impose the nation's first state excise tax on wind energy production is generating debate over how the state should handle the arrival of massive wind farms to its wind-swept plains and plateaus. Gov. Dave Freudenthal made the wind energy tax a centerpiece of his legislative agenda, drawing surprise and alarm from some in the state's fledgling wind industry.
Governor: Tax wind power
Gov. Dave Freudenthal is pushing several bills to regulate the wind energy industry. Chief among them are a $3 per megawatt hour excise tax, and a temporary suspension of eminent domain powers to "merchant" energy companies that want to connect wind turbines to the electrical grid.
Wyoming governor works to revive wind tax proposal
Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal said he's working with lawmakers on a proposal for the upcoming Legislature to tax wind energy production. Freudenthal's pursuit of a wind tax bill follows a November vote by the Joint Revenue Committee against sponsoring two bills to tax wind energy generation. The governor said a wind tax would level the playing field.
Wind farms waste tax dollars
I do agree that "those" windmills are not contributing to our demand for Mideast oil or to "wild-eyed killers" simply because the percentage of electricity produced in the United States by oil is in the single digits. The production of electricity with the power of the wind has no relevance to oil.
Wind tax talk whips up debate
Wyoming lawmakers will soon take up the thorny issue of whether to impose new taxes on wind energy development, a proposal that developers say could stunt the fledgling industry's growth in Wyoming. Supporters of a new tax say it's only fair for wind projects to contribute to state and local governments equal to other energy industries. Opponents say Wyoming taxes are already high compared to surrounding states and any new tax would be premature. The Joint Revenue Committee will consider two proposals to tax wind electricity generation at a Wednesday meeting in Cheyenne.
Wind developers fear new taxes
Wind developers are bracing against draft legislation that would impose a tax on the generation of wind energy in the state ...Rather than creating a tax specifically on wind energy, lawmakers are considering a tax on all electrical generation, then providing tax credits or exemptions to all other forms of generation but wind. The purpose for this strategy is to fit within the state's constitution, which prohibits singling out a particular industry for exclusive taxation.
What else do they generate?
Wind farms generate a lot of electricity, but not a large number of permanent jobs once the construction phase is over. And although the projects are desirable because they use an abundant renewable natural resource, the only significant revenue the units are generating in Wyoming at this point is through property taxes in the counties where they are located. Their property tax bills so far are modest.
Tax exemption hits local governments
Sales tax exemptions designed to encourage alternative energy development in Wyoming may be hurting local communities' ability to cope with the impacts. But the tax incentives are also bringing such projects to Wyoming, and communities should consider the long-term benefits, including good jobs and new opportunities, a state lawmaker says. The tax exemption "sunset" date was extended from 2008 to June 2012 during last year's legislative session. Companies building alternative energy projects, such as wind farms, enjoy an exemption from paying sales taxes on materials during construction. ...Despite the potential long-term benefits, proposals such as the Glenrock-area wind farms have up-front costs communities have to shoulder, including bringing roads up to par and increasing some social service and law enforcement programs. Usually, increases in sales taxes boost local governments' coffers as projects take hold.
Wind farm could bring impact aid
DOUGLAS -- The monetary impact on Converse County of a proposed wind project in Glenrock may be realized as soon as construction starts through impact assistance payments from the state Department of Environmental Quality's industrial siting division. From that division, Tom Schroeder prepared the county commissioners Tuesday for what he said could be a "fast and furious" process as Rocky Mountain Power files its application for an industrial siting permit this fall. In conjunction with the permit, the state Industrial Siting Council will decide what sort of money it should approve for the county as impact assistance fees. State permits are required for all projects with construction costs of $163 million or more. The council evaluates the socio-economic and environmental impacts of the construction work on communities before issuing construction permits. The assistance fees are intended to help communities address impacts.