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UPDATED with Strickland reaction: Sen. Widener proposes bill to jump start green energy projects
Sen. Chris Widener, R-Springfield, on Wednesday, Feb. 24, unveiled legislation, Senate Bill 232, that he said would make Ohio more competitive with surrounding states in attracting renewal energy projects and creating “green-collar” jobs.
His bill would allow companies that want to build renewal energy generation facilities - such as wind projects - to pay an annual fee based on how much energy they generate instead of tangible personal property taxes. This would bring Ohio tax rates for such projects in line with surrounding states, Widener said at a press conference.
Meanwhile, Rep. Roland Winburn, D-Harrison Twp., said in a press release that he planned to introduce legislation “in the near future” with similar goals. His bill would eliminate the tangible personal property tax on generation equipment on wind and solar facilities but he did not provide more details.
Widener said he’s engaged in his own “March madness.” He said hearings would being next week on his bill and he’d like to get a final version to Gov. Ted Strickland for his signature by the end of March.
“There’s no reason to wait,” said Widener.
Gov. Ted Strickland welcomed the proposal, spokeswoman Amanda Wurst said in an e-mail.
“In his State of the State address, the governor proposed eliminating TPP (tangible personal property tax) for wind and solar farms that break ground in 2010, are creating energy in 2012 and create Ohio jobs.
“We have not had the chance to review either the Senate or House proposals, but the governor is encouraged that both chambers are taking a serious look at how we can grow green jobs in Ohio. Governor Strickland remains committed to working with the GA in a bipartisan manner to get a bill passed that continues to cement Ohio’s standing as the nation’s leader in advanced energy.”
Widener’s bill would:
*Allow companies seeking to generate renewable energy in Ohio to be exempt from the tangible personal property tax and instead make an annual payment amounting to $6,000 per megawatt of installed capacity for the life of the project.
*Tell the companies to apply to the Ohio Air Quality Development Authority for the exemption.
*Make the new tax treatment available for all renewable energy projects that are under construction by 2011 and operational by the end of 2012.
*Require each project to create a number of construction and operation jobs in Ohio consistent with a model published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
*Require project owners to repair all roads impacted by construction.
*Require owners to train county fire and emergency responders for potential emergencies at the owner’s expense and equip local and county emergency responders with proper equipment to respond to emergencies.
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By Squirrellygirl
February 25, 2010 11:13 AM | Link to this
I’m still trying to figure out why our left leaning gov’t is working on funding another jobs bill when he has only spent half of the stimulus dollars. Are they putting the stimulus dollars back for another socialist agenda item he hasn’t shared with the rest of America yet? I’ve never seen such secrecy with our taxpayer dollars. What happened to transparency? Strickland won’t be reelected if we are luckly.