But it’s also clear that the vast disparity in subsidies being given to solar and wind versus the amount being given to nuclear energy reflects the mismatch between the rhetoric about the possible threat of climate change and the reality of how Congress doles out money to politically connected industries. ...if we are going to have any hope of limiting greenhouse gas emissions we must also preserve and extend the operating lives of existing nuclear reactors.

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The Energy Act of 2020 includes a two-year extension of the investment tax credit (ITC) used by solar power generators (keeping the ITC at 26% through year-end 2022 instead of falling to 22% in calendar year 2021), a one-year extender for the production tax credit (PTC) used by wind developers, and a new 30% ITC for offshore wind projects that commence construction by the end of 2025.

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Wyoming lawmakers rejected a pair of bills Thursday aiming to raise revenues through the state’s energy industries, one of which would establish an excise tax on electricity production in the state and another that would increase the tax burden for the wind energy industry.

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An agreement to extend these tax breaks for multiple years last year fell apart after he White House balked at some of the clean energy incentives and Congress instead passed a narrow one-year extension of some non-controversial tax breaks.

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The Cattaraugus County Industrial Development Agency updated its eligible projects policy earlier this week in a way that could impact the proposed $455 million Alle-Catt Wind Farm. The IDA Board of Directors was already working under a 2018 directive from the Cattaraugus County Legislature not to grant tax breaks to large industrial turbine projects.

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After impassioned public comment on the topic, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions sent a bill to next year’s legislative session that would eliminate a three-year electricity tax moratorium available to new wind energy projects.

Taxes & Subsidies Wyoming

Wyoming lawmakers narrowly advanced a bill Wednesday that would remove an electricity tax exemption that applies to new wind energy projects in their first three years, with some on the committee viewing the exemption repeal as a way to potentially help the state's revenue streams.   

Taxes & Subsidies Wyoming

The action throws the project into limbo as the local tax reductions were considered critical for construction to move forward. However, the vote also represents a significant victory for many residents in the towns of Sanford and Windsor who had long fought the installation on aesthetic and environmental grounds. Despite the setback, Bluestone sponsors vowed to press on.

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Tuesday night at the Niagara County Courthouse, opponents of the proposed Bear Ridge Solar project in Cambria/Pendleton showed their support of a county law denying property tax exemptions to local solar and wind energy generation projects. For Niagara County Legislator David Godfrey, Tuesday night's legislative battle over opting out of a state-authorized property tax exemption for solar and wind energy systems had nothing to do with going green.

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On Thursday, however, Crenshaw was particularly critical of solar and wind power advocacy. He said Germany spent over $500 billion trying to convert to solar and wind, but it led to more emissions and more reliance on them bringing in natural gas from Russia. “So these things don’t work,” Crenshaw said. “These are silly solutions. They’re no solutions at all.”

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“This production tax credit was established years ago to help the fledgling renewable energy industry. Now, when you drive through my state and many others with countless wind turbines, you can see that the wind industry is no longer a start-up, new energy source,” said Lankford. “The wind industry is thriving and does not need federal taxpayers’ money to thrive.” ...“The wind production tax credit is fundamentally unfair and has long outlived its expiration date.”

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Despite the topic not being on the agenda, Wyoming lawmakers narrowly voted to propose a bill increasing the tax burden on wind energy producers in the state late Friday afternoon. After impassioned public comment on the topic, the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Corporations, Elections and Political Subdivisions decided to draft a bill to eliminate a three-year electricity tax moratorium available to new wind energy projects. In a 6-5 vote, lawmakers voted to draft the legislation for review in November.

Taxes & Subsidies Wyoming

Considering the many tax benefits which the wind industry is granted, it is somewhat surprising how few local jobs are created in either their construction or their operations. ...After taking advantage of these generous federal, state, and local tax abatements, these companies typically file valuation lawsuits against local county appraisal districts in an attempt to drastically lower their property taxes. This is almost always done immediately after their tax abatements expire.

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Once wind facilities have been up and running in Wyoming for three years, the state levies the $1 per MWh wind generation tax. That comes in addition to sales and property taxes. Raising the tax to $4 per MWh would bring the state an additional $1.9 billion. 

Taxes & Subsidies Wyoming

“There is more to be told that the state energy policy makers would rather not be known. The article makes renewable energy look far better than it is. How, can hydropower, the only reliable and true renewable resource, be included in the percentage calculations of renewable generation? Wind is less than 2% at best, solar is about the same. So 17-18% of generated renewable power was hydro and only 1-2% from solar or wind. Also, solar and wind power cost five to six times more than hydro or nuclear or hydrocarbon power.

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In 2011 the $1 billion project was to be the biggest solar plant of its kind, and it looked like the future of renewable power. Citigroup Inc. and other financiers invested $140 million with its developer, SolarReserve Inc. Steven Chu, the U.S. Department of Energy secretary at the time, offered the company government loan guarantees, and Harry Reid, then the Senate majority leader and senior senator from Nevada, cleared the way for the company to build on public land. ...SolarReserve may have done its part, but today the company doesn’t rank among the winners. Instead, it’s mired in litigation and accusations of mismanagement at Crescent Dunes, where taxpayers remain on the hook for $737 million in loan guarantees.

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In 2011 the $1 billion project was to be the biggest solar plant of its kind, and it looked like the future of renewable power. Citigroup Inc. and other financiers invested $140 million with its developer, SolarReserve Inc. Steven Chu, the U.S. Department of Energy secretary at the time, offered the company government loan guarantees, and Harry Reid, then the Senate majority leader and senior senator from Nevada, cleared the way for the company to build on public land. ...SolarReserve may have done its part, but today the company doesn’t rank among the winners. Instead, it’s mired in litigation and accusations of mismanagement at Crescent Dunes, where taxpayers remain on the hook for $737 million in loan guarantees.

Taxes & Subsidies Energy Policy Nevada USA

"This project has consistently faced technical failures that have proven difficult to overcome," Hynes said, adding that the department's decision was made "after years of exhausting options within our authority to get the project back on track, given the significant taxpayer investment the prior administration committed to this project." DOE is currently owed about $425 million, with the last payment made in July 2013.

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"This project has consistently faced technical failures that have proven difficult to overcome," Hynes said, adding that the department's decision was made "after years of exhausting options within our authority to get the project back on track, given the significant taxpayer investment the prior administration committed to this project." DOE is currently owed about $425 million, with the last payment made in July 2013.

Taxes & Subsidies Legal Nevada USA

A decade ago, more than 50 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States came from coal-fired generating plants.  But by 2016, coal’s No. 1 status had been replaced by natural gas.

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