West Virginia Senate Bill 16, introduced in the 2017 regular legislative session, would repeal 11-6A-5a of the West Virginia Code related to wind power projects. The current Code grants pollution control property tax treatment to wind turbines and tower. For property taxation, assessment of the covered facilities is based on salvage value which the statue defines as five percent of original cost.
Senate Bill 16 would repeal this status for existing and future wind facilities without a grandfathering provision for either operating wind projects, or those currently development.
This analysis provides an overview of the wind industry in West Virginia and explores the economics of wind in West Virginia, taxation of wind power facilities in West Virginia, property taxation of wind farms, comparison to other types of generations. It also presents the tax implications of SB 16.