Note: please note that this issue brief should (a) link back to the issue overview on this topic, (b) be focused either the local, state, national, or global level, and (c) be neutrally presented, based on facts, and include footnotes for each of the items.  See the Research Guide and Information Sources to assist you. 

Goal Statement

• Securing long-term benefits from wind energy development in the state of Maine

Scope of the Problem  factual statements on the extent of the problem in the past, current, or future

• Wind energy has become an economically viable option for the US to achieve energy independence and decrease its global carbon footprint; however, while short term economic benefits are ubiquitous for states, long-term gains are limited. 
• Wind energy development helps by: diversifying the economy, creating jobs, and providing much needed tax revenue, which substantially aid rural communities where the majority of wind farms are in place.
• Jobs include: construction, maintenance, and management. Employment opportunities are great when the projects begin, because of the many construction jobs necessary; however, very few jobs are necessary to operate and maintain the sites once they are up and running. At one wind farm in Maine, only five full-time jobs are necessary to manage  and oversee maintenance requirements for a 28-turbine site.^[1] 
• Property tax has been the central mechanisms for the state to gain revenue from projects
• Property tax has provided a solid stream of state revenue: a site in Upton Texas generated $3.6 million in property tax, a site in Walla Walla, Washington brought in nearly $1.5 million, and a site in Lincoln, Minnesota produced $471,822.
• However, a property tax exhibits a diminishing return, over time, as the property depreciates in value.
• Establishing an effective taxation policy will be an excellent way to extend the profits of wind energy for states.

Past Policy  key legislation and milestones including significant policy and funding shifts, major studies, etc.

• Towns, municipalities, and states throughout the US have enacted legislation that regulates wind energy development

• Most legislation only addresses ways to create incentives for the construction of wind farms (tax credits and financing schemes)

• Most focus on non-commercial wind development (ta

• Very little legislation is efficient at accruing revenue from wind farms without critically impacting the industry

Current Policy  summary of current policies in the form of legislation, programs, and funding

• Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and New York have all enacted legislation that exempts property tax, in some manner, on commercial wind farm sites^[2]

• Minnesota has an interesting policy of exempting the property tax on wind facilities. Wind energy is then taxed on a production basis.

Policy Options   

• New taxation policy should involve exempting all wind turbine equipment (towers and turbines) in the state of Maine from property taxes
• In place of the property tax, an excise tax should be imposed, on rated capacity or MWH ($2.50 appears to be the most equitable figure)
• Revenue should be placed in a non-lapsing fund to be redistributed to the municipalities and townships where the facilities are located
• Benefits: provides stable and constant annual revenue (versus the diminishing property tax), and is advantageous to businesses by imposing, "a uniform burden across all competing elements," involved in wind energy development, maintenance and management^[3]
• Revenue generated can then be applied to reducing local property tax, supporting local education, repairing aging infrastructure, and investing in other renewable energy projects

Key Organizations/Individuals   contacts for public and private organizations and key individuals

• MECEP

• U.S. Department of Energy

• American Wind Energy Association

• www.dsireusa.com

• www.windustry.com

• Senator Peter Mills 

Bibliography   web sites, reports, articles, and other reference material 

• "American Wind Energy Association," [Online at: www.awea.org].

• "Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency," [Online at: www.dsire.org].

• "Megawatts From Mountain Tops: What's in it for Maine? Part 1: Power to Rely On," by Senator Peter Mills. [Online at: www.mecep.org].

• "Megawatts From Mountain Tops: What's in it for Maine? Part 2: Capturing the Wind," by Senator Peter Mills. [Online at: www.mecep.org].

• National Renewable Energy Laboratory Report, found at the US Department of Energy. [Online at: www.windpowering america.gov/policy.asp]. 

• "Wind Powering America," US Department of Energy. [Online at: www.windpoweringamerica.gov].

• "Windustry." [Online at: www.windustry.com].

Footnotes

1. "Megawatts From Mountain Tops: What's in it for Maine? Part 1: Power to Rely On," by Senator Peter Mills ▲
2. Information regarding state tax policy on wind development can be found at: www.dsireusa.org ▲
3. "Megawatts From Mountain Tops: What's in it for Maine? Part 2: Capturing the Wind," by Senator Peter Mills. ▲