United States Environmental Protection k Agency xvEPA State Incentives for Achieving Clean and Renewable Energy Development on Contaminated Lands The development of clean and renewable energy on formerly used land offers many economic and environmental benefits. Combining clean and renewable energy and contaminated land cleanup incentives can allow investors and communities to create economically viable clean and renewable energy redevelopmei projects. This document provides information about incentives in your state that can be leveraged for clean and renewable energy and development of contaminated land. Incentives for Clean and Renewable Energy Tax Incentives (abatements, deductions, credits, etc.) Biomass Sales and Use Tax Exemption www.etax.dor.ga.gov/salestax/TSD_Sales_Tax_Exemptions_Juty_2007.pdf Provides a 100% sales and use tax exemption for the purchase of organic biomass materials (excluding fossil fuels) utilized in the production of energy, electricity, steam, or both electricity and steam produced for resale. Eligible biomass materials include: agricultural crops, plants, trees, wood, wood wastes and residues, sawmill waste, sawdust, wood chips, bark chips, and forest thinning, harvesting, or clearing residues; wood waste from pallets or other wood demolition debris; peanut shells; pecan shells; cotton plants; corn stalks; and plant matter, including aquatic plants, grasses, stalks, vegetation, and residues, including hulls, shells, or cellulose-containing fibers. Clean Energy Tax Credit www.etax.dor.ga.gov/pressrel/ADM_HB_670_Clean_Energy_Property_and _Wood_Residuals_Tax_Credit_6-30-08.pdff Provides a tax credit for the construction, purchase, or lease of clean energy property that is placed into service in Georgia between July 1,2008 and December 31, 2012. The aggregate amount of tax credits allowed for both the clean energy property tax credit and the wood residuals tax credit is $2.5 million for calendar years 2008,2009,2010,2011, and 2012. The taxpayer must request preapproval to claim this credit on Form IT-CEP-AP. For more information, refer to O.C.G.A. § 48-7-29.14. Technical Assistance and Other Incentives Solar Easement www. dsireusa. org/documents/lncentives/GAO 1R.htm Allows owners of solar-energy systems to negotiate for assurance of continued access to sunlight. Net Metering www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2001 _02/sum/sb93.htm The Georgia Cogeneration and Distributed Generation Act of 2001 provides compensation to customers for any power produced in excess of on-site needs or for all of the power generated from the system, depending on the metering arrangement selected. The net metering requirement applies to solar photovoltaic (PV), fuel cell, and wind systems of up to 10 kW in size for residential applications and up to 100 kW for commercial applications. Utilities are required to purchase the excess power from an eligible customer generator until the cumulative renewable energy capacity reaches 0.2% of the utility's system peak load. Systems can be interconnected on the customer side of the meter and have a bi-directional meter to measure flows in each direction. In this scenario, net excess generation (NEG) is credited to the customer's next bill. Alternatively, customers may send all power from a system directly to the grid by connecting ahead of the customer meter and essentially selling all power (rather than meeting on-site load with part of the energy and then selling any excess generation). System owners are not required to purchase additional liability insurance. Quick Facts Public Benefit Fund (PBF) Renewable Portfolio Standard Net Metering Interconnection Standards Yes D No 0 Yes D No 0 Yes 0 No D Yes 0 No D Electric Power Industry Generation by Primary Energy Source (EIA, 2006) Petroleum-Fired 0.6% Nuclear 23.2% Natural Gas-Fired 9.4% Hydroelectric 1.9% Coal-Fired 62.7% Other Renewables 2.5% Points of Contact Biomass Sales and Use Tax Exemption Andrea Shepard, andrea.shepard@dor.ga.gov, (404) 417- 6656 Clean Energy Tax Credit Pamela Goshay, pamela.goshay@dor.ga.gov, (404) 417-2441 Solar Easement Energy Contract Manager, Richard Ross, richard@gefa.ga.gov, (404)584-1031 Education Specialist, Tracy Williams, tracy@gefa.ga.gov, (404) 584-1037 Net Metering Daniel R. Cearfoss, danc@psc.state.ga.us, (404) 656-0948 Information current as of November 2008; please refer to www.dsireusa.org and the state Web sites provided, or contact the points of contact identified above for more up to date information. Georgia Incentives for Clean and Renewable Energy - Page 1 ------- *Jfea [ Incentives for Development of Contaminated Land Funding (grants, loans, bonds, etc.) Georgia Underground Storage Tank (GUST) Trust Fund www.gaepd.org/Documents/lpb.htmMustmp Reimburses owners or operators up to $1 million (per release) of actual, reasonable cleanup costs associated with releases from regulated petroleum underground storage tanks. Tax Incentives (abatements, credits, deductions, etc.) Brownfields Tax Incentives www.gaepd.org/Files_PDF/outreach/BFTax.pdf Provides preferential assessment of environmentally contaminated property. The preferential assessment can reduce taxes on the property for 10 years, or until certified assessment and cleanup costs are recouped, whichever occurs first. To obtain the preferential tax treatment, the prospective purchaser simply has to produce an approved application for limitation of liability to its local taxing authority. Limitations on Liability Georgia Hazardous Site Reuse and Redevelopment Act www.georgiaepd.org/Files_PDF/outreach/BFGALeg.pdf Provides liability relief for prospective purchasers of contaminated property who voluntarily agree to remediate soil and source material to meet risk reduction standards. The Act protects qualified prospective purchasers from legal action, upon approval of the prospective purchaser corrective action plan or concurrence with the certification of compliance. The limitation of liability typically takes effect upon the approval of the work plan for the site or upon concurrence by the state that no further cleanup is required. Under the Act, the limitation of liability is fully transferable to subsequent purchasers, unless a purchaser is otherwise liable for the contamination because of some prior interaction with the property. Quick Facts Limitation of Liability Yes 0 No D Number of State-Tracked Contaminated Properties: 143 Includes properties that have cleanup actions planned, in progress or completed under Georgia's Brownfields bw, the Hazardous Site Reuse and Redevelopment Act Number of EPA CERCLIS Sites: 508 Sites identified for potential investigation under the federal Superfund Program Number of EPA Brownfields Properties: 571 Properties being funded or addressed under the EPA Brownfields Program There may be some overlap among the categories listed and sites listed may not represent all potentially contaminated sites in Georgia. Points of Contact Information current as of November 2008; please refer to www.epa.gov/brownfields/pubs/st_res_prog_report.htm and the state Web sites provided, or contact the points of contact identified above for more up to date information. GUST Trust Fund www.gaepd.org/Documents/lpb.html Darnell Manning, 404-362-4526 Corrective Action Unit I - Project Management (GUST Fund Reimbursement Cleanups) Brownfields Tax Incentivs, Georgia Hazardous Site Reuse and Redevelopment Act www.georgiaepd.org/Documents/brownfields.html Madeleine Kellam, madeleine_kellam@dnr.state.ga.us, (404) 656-2833 Georgia Incentives for Development of Contaminated Land - Page 2 ------- |