Latest news with #SB439
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate bill would remove tax break for West Virginia wind farms
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — A Senate Bill introduced in West Virginia last month is looking to do away with a long-standing tax credit for wind turbines in the state. Senate Bill 439, which was introduced by Senator Chris Rose (R – Monongalia, 02), would repeal §11-6A-5a of the West Virginia state code and is currently under review in the Senate finance committee. Currently, §11-6A-5a designates wind turbines as 'pollution control facilities.' In West Virginia, pollution control facilities are taxed at a much lower rate than other kinds of property, and it's this reduced tax rate that Rose says is 'unfair' to other energy sectors in the state. 'When you're taxed on the real property value of your home, or a coal mine or a gas facility is taxed on theirs, you pay at a much higher tax rate than what the windmills are receiving,' Rose told 12 News in an interview over Zoom. 'This was a special carve out that only they receive, which many of us around the state feel is unfair for the rest of the industry.' Rose argues that unlike coal mines, windmills aren't required to pay a severance tax on the energy it produces; in West Virginia, a piece of coal is taxed as soon as it is extracted or 'severed' from the ground. Even without being considered a pollution control facility, Rose says wind turbines would still be at an advantage over the coal industry because turbines do not pay the state severance tax. On the other hand, Senator Joey Garcia (D – Marion, 13) says that SB 439 would be seen as a betrayal to the businesses that have already invested into wind energy in the state with §11-6A-5a in mind. 'It's kind of a slap and an affront to those businesses in West Virginia, including those energy businesses that want to bring new investments to the state of West Virginia,' Garcia told 12 News. 'I think it's had a bad effect already from what I've heard. Just the fact that we're debating the bill means that you have some of these companies wondering, are we going to keep our promises as the state of West Virginia and give them some foreseeability about what's going to happen in the future?' West Virginia is the country's fifth largest producer of energy according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, but only about 7% of the state's energy came from renewable sources like wind, solar and hydroelectric. However, wind accounted for more than half of the state's renewable energy production with 428 turbines scattered across the Allegheny Highlands. West Virginia Department of Agriculture wants to treat 17k acres to kill invasive moth Instead of looking at one sector's tax treatment, Garcia said he wants the state to pursue an 'all of the above' approach when it comes to energy production, especially when many industries, not just wind production, receive tax incentives in some form or another. But if the state did want to seriously invest in improving renewable energy generation, wind may not even be the best choice for large-scale production. Legislators have at least shown some interest in nuclear energy when it repealed a ban on nuclear power plants in 2022, but Garcia says nuclear power projects would be a long-term investment that may not provide returns until a decade later. If you want to follow SB 439 for yourself, you can track the bill on the West Virginia state legislature website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
18-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate committee moves bill to raise property tax on windmills
Feb. 17—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — A resurrected state Senate bill that would raise the property tax on windmills cleared the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee on Monday, but not without bipartisan opposition. SB 439 brings back to life a bill sponsored last year byt then-Energy chair Randy Smith, R-Tucker. Smith is now Senate president and SB 439 is sponsored by current Energy chair Chris Rose, R-Monongalia. Wind turbines and towers are currently considered pollution control facilities and taxed as personal property at salvage value — 5 % of the original cost based on 79 % of the full value of the property. That 5 % figure depreciates annually. The legislation originated in 2001 and was updated in 2007. SB 439 would change that to tax wind turbines and towers and the attached components as real property. A fiscal note with last year's bill said it would produce $6.1 million in additional annual revenue: $1.8 million for the General Fund, $2.5 million to the county schools and $1.8 million to the county commissions. Chris Hall representing Clear Way Energy — a developer and owner of wind, solar, battery and natural gas projects — stood to oppose the bill. He noted that Clear Way has ongoing contracts with such companies as Toyota and Google to supply green power. Clear Way has 1 gigawatt of wind power in operation and development, he said, with three wind farms in Mineral and Grant Counties, with a total $2.2 billion in current and planned investments, generating $8 million in state and local tax and lease payments. The company, he said, is planning an $800 million repowering project at its Mount Storm facility in Grant Counti, that will produce $60 million in county taxes over the life of project. The tear-down and rebuild plan will result in 54 fewer turbines. It has received wide community support. Another $400 million investment is planned for 2026 in Grant and Tucker counties, he said. "This legislation here would endanger both of those projects, " he said, and undercut the state's reputation for being a stable, reliable business partner. Hall cautioned bill supporters about changing state policies to react to changes in federal policy that fluctuate form administration to administration. Sen. Rupie Phillips, R-Logan, noted that many windmill components come from foreign sources. "The bulk of it's not made in America, we know it." He also said that the tax break isn't offered for coal projects. "In energy, we need to be fair and this isn't fair." Why not put money toward reliable clean coal technology instead of intermittent wind projects ? Sen. Craig Hart, R-Mingo, raised the issue of companies using wind power to meet their green ESG — environmental, social and governance — requirements. Hall responded that the motivation isn't the real issue. "We're providing a type of energy that's in demand." These project provide job and tax revenue. Hart countered that coal makes more jobs. But Hall responded that green companies are investing in current and former coal communities and both types of power can co-exist. "We need every job we can get in West Virginia." They can't stop renewables but they can drive the investment to other states. Sen. Joey Garcia, D-Marion, the sole Democrat on the committee, opposed the bill, citing jobs. Coal provides many jobs, but, "when those jobs have left, who else is coming ?" Sen. Glenn Jeffries, R-Putnam, also opposed it, saing West Virginia has touted itself as an all-of-the-above energy state. This bill could drive out more than $1.2 billion in investment. Businesses look for stability. Some of the conversation hovered around the proportion of wind power in West Virginia and the PJM regional grid. PJM has public policy and fuel economics are driving a capacity shift. Its current fuel mix is 48.4 % natural gas, 22.1 % coal and 18.1 % nuclear. In ht elast half of 2024, wind made up just 3.14 % of its fuel mix. But new PJM interconnection requests reflect the new greener consciousness: 40 % are solar — 2, 200 projects in queue, totaling 109, 397 megawatts. There are 180 wind projects in queue, totaling 22, 012.6 MW. And there are 50 natural gas projects in queue, totaling 7, 566 MW. The committee approved the bill in a voice vote. It heads next to Finance, where it died last year.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Mon County state senator introduces three energy bills
Feb. 13—MORGANTOWN — Monongalia County's newest state senator — Republican Chris Rose — is also the new chair of the Senate Energy, Industry and Mining Committee and introduced three energy-related bills on the second day of the legislative session. One resurrects a 2024 bill to raise the property tax on windmills. One creates a state Coal Marketing Program. And one aims to curb federal regulation of intrastate energy commerce. Rose's SB 439 reintroduces last year's SB 231, which was sponsored by Sen. Randy Smith, R-Tucker, who was Energy chair and is now Senate president. Wind turbines and towers are currently considered pollution control facilities and taxed as personal property at salvage value — 5 % of the original cost based on 79 % of the full value of the property. That 5 % figure depreciates annually. SB 439 would change that to tax wind turbines and towers and the attached components as real property. A fiscal note with last year's bill says it would produce $6.1 million in additional annual revenue: $1.8 million for the General Fund, $2.5 million to the county schools and $1.8 million to the county commissions. The bill passed out of Energy last year. Smith said then that his aim was to get the bill out of committee and on to Finance where the various stakeholders — the counties, the windmill companies and so on — could work out a compromise bill that might do such things as grandfather existing facilities. SB 231 died in Finance. SB 439 again goes first to Energy and then to Finance. Rose's SB 437 would create the Coal Marketing Program. The introduced version of the bill is short — about a page and a half — and broad. It says, "The purpose of the program is to protect and expand West Virginia's coal markets and coal facilities and to address impacts cities, towns, and counties have experienced or will experience due to changes in the coal market." This might remind some of the 2021 House of Delegates Coal Communities Workgroup, whose goal was "to go into communities and talk with local residents as well as local community and business leaders, to determine what our coal communities specifically need to succeed and what tools are already available." The workgroup produced a report in January 2022 that is largely forgotten. This bill takes a different approach. It appropriates $1 million from the General Fund for the program account, to be spent by the governor, on "projects with a public benefit associated with expanding and protecting West Virginia's coal markets and coal facilities, " and projects addressing the impacts described above. It requires that the state attorney general sign off on the legality of any expenditure. It also calls for the governor's office to draft the rules to govern the program — a departure from the usual process where agencies draft rules for legislative approval. The bill is single-referenced to Energy and would go to the Senate floor if approved there. Rose's SB 438 is called the West Virginia Intrastate Energy Use Act. It cites rights reserved to the state in the 9th and 10th amendments to the U.S. Constitution to declare, "Regulation of intrastate commerce, including the environmental impact of such activities, falls under the states' jurisdiction." It specifies regulation of coal, oil and natural gas where they are produced, consumed or retained within the state borders, including fossil fuel power reserves permitting power to the state "Department of Energy." There is no such department. There is an Office of Energy under the state Department of Economic Development. It role is "the formulation and implementation of fossil, renewable and energy efficiency initiatives designed to advance energy resource development opportunities and provide energy services to businesses, communities and homeowners in West Virginia." The state Department of Environmental Protection handles all mineral extraction permitting. The bill says the U.S. EPA has no authority to regulate intrastate commerce. The bill echoes to some extent a 2016 House bill, the Intrastate Coal and Use Act, which also cited the 9th and 10th Amendments. That bill said that any coal mined in West Virginia and used exclusively in West Virginia would be subject to regulation and oversight only by the DEP. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had no jurisdiction under federal interstate commerce laws to regulate this coal. That bill passed out of House Energy but died in Judiciary. SB 438 is single referenced to Judiciary. It doesn't mention but touches on the Biden administration EPA Good Neighbor Rule (also called the Good Neighbor Plan), which was put on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court last June. The rule would have required power plants in 22 states to further reduce their emissions by 2027. The Biden EPA projected the plan could lead to retirement of 13 % of current national coal-fired generating capacity. The rule was a new version of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule issued under the Clean Air Act's Good Neighbor requirements, dealing with emissions that cross state lines. West Virginia was one of three states that challenged the rule. The Supreme Court pause returned it to a lower court to allow legal challenges to play out. An independent publication called SCOTUSBlog cited the majority opinion acknowledging that the plan would improve the air quality in downwind states but could infringe on the states' interests "in regulating their own industries and citizens." And requiring the challengers to comply with the plan while litigation continues could cost them "hundreds of millions, if not billions of dollars." The Dominion Post reached out to Rose and Smith for comment on the three bills, but neither was available by deadline.
