ENGROSSED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2535
(By Delegate Wooton)
(Originating in the Committee on Finance)
[March 23, 2009]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new article, designated §11-13Z-1, §11-13Z-2
and §11-13Z-3; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new
article, designated §24-2F-1 and §24-2F-2, all relating to
energy systems; providing for a tax credit; requiring the
Public Service Commission to adopt a rule regarding net
metering; and requiring Tax Commissioner to promulgate rules
for claiming and applying tax credit.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new article, designated §11-13Z-1, §11-13Z-2
and §11-13Z-3; and that said code be amended by adding thereto a
new article, designated §24-2F-1 and §24-2F-2, all to read as
follows:
CHAPTER 11. TAXATION.
ARTICLE 13Z. RESIDENTIAL SOLAR ENERGY TAX CREDIT.
§11-13Z-1. Amount of credit.
Any taxpayer who installs or causes to be installed a solar
energy system on property located in this state and owned by the
taxpayer and used as a residence after July 1, 2009, shall be
allowed a credit against the taxes imposed in article twenty-one of
this chapter in an amount equal to thirty percent of the cost to
purchase and install the system up to a maximum amount of $2,000.
§11-13Z-2. Restrictions.
In order to receive the credit for a solar energy system on
residential property, the system must use solar energy to:
(1) Generate electricity;
(2) Heat or cool a structure; or
(3) Provide hot water for use in the structure or to provide
solar process heat: Provided, That this does not include a
swimming pool, hot tub or any other energy storage medium that has
a function other than storage; Provided, however, That the system
used to provide hot water must derive at least fifty percent of its
energy to heat or cool from the sun.
§11-13Z-3. Carryover credit allowed; Tax Commissioner to
promulgate rules.
If the credit earned in the year the solar energy system is
installed exceeds the allowable tax credit amount the residential
property owner may claim for that taxable year, the excess credit
may be carried over for the next taxable year. If the amount of the credit exceeds the taxpayer's liability for the taxable year,
the amount which exceeds the tax liability may be carried over and
applied as a credit against the tax liability of the taxpayer
pursuant to the provisions of article twenty-one of this chapter to
each of the next taxable years unless sooner used.
The State Tax Commissioner shall promulgate legislative rules
pursuant to the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code
regarding the applicability, method of claiming of the credit,
recapture of the credit and documentation necessary to claim the
credit allowed by this article.
CHAPTER 24. PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION.
ARTICLE 2F. NET-METERING.
§24-2F-1. Definitions.
Unless the context in which used clearly requires a different
meaning, as used in this article:
(1) "Customer-generator" means an electric retail customer who
owns and operates a net metering system in this state.
(2) "Electric utility" means any electric distribution company
or electric generation supplier that sells electricity to retail
customers in this state.
(3) "Net-metering" means measuring the difference between
electricity supplied by an electric utility and electricity
generated from an alternative or renewable energy resource facility
owned or operated by an electric retail customer when any portion
of the electricity generated from the alternative or renewable energy resource facility is used to offset part or all of the
electric retail customer's requirements for electricity.
§24-2F-2. Net-metering; credit by public electric utilities for
excess electricity generated.
(a) The Public Service Commission shall adopt a rule requiring
all electric utilities to provide a rebate or discount at fair
value, to be determined by the commission, to customer-generators
for any electricity generation that is delivered to the utility
under a net metering arrangement.
(b) The commission shall institute a general investigation for
the purpose of adopting rules pertaining to net metering and the
interconnection of eligible electric generating facilities intended
to operate in parallel with an electric utility's system. As part
of its investigation, the commission shall take into consideration
rules of other states within the applicable region of the regional
transmission organization, as that term is defined in 18 C.F.R.
§35.34, that manages a utility's transmission system in any part of
this state. Furthermore, the commission shall consider increasing
the allowed kilowatt capacity for commercial customer-generators to
an amount not to exceed five hundred kilowatts, and for industrial
customer-generators to an amount not to exceed two megawatts. The
commission shall further consider interconnection standards for
combined heat and power.
(c) The commission shall develop these rules within twelve
months of the effective date of this article.