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Introduced Version House Bill 3271 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 3271


(By Delegates Manypenny, Wooton and Fleischauer)

[Introduced March 20, 2009; referred to the

Committee on Energy, Industry and Labor, Economic Development and Small Business then Finance.]





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, §11-13Z-3 and §11-13Z-4, all relating to creating a tax credit for certain solar energy systems; providing for restrictions of use; requiring public electric utilities to provide net metering service to customers; 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, §11-13Z-3 and §11-13Z-4, all to read as follows:

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 owned by the taxpayer and used as a residence, or as farm or small industry as defined in section three of this article, 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, a farm or small industry defined in section three of this article, 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. Net-metering; credit by public electric utilities for excess electricity generated.

If the solar energy system generates electricity in excess of the monthly retail consumption of electricity of the customer's residence, farm or small industry as defined in section three of this article, public electric utilities shall allow the customer owner an offset for the electricity generated from the solar energy system on the customer's side of the meter connected to the residence. If the customer generates electricity in excess of that customers's monthly consumption, all excess energy expressed in kilowatt-hours shall be carried forward from month to month and credited against the person's energy consumption, expressed in kilowatt-hours. Public electric utilities shall provide net metering service at nondiscriminating rates and allow the residence owner to generate electricity subject to net metering up to fifty kilowatts and allow farms and small industries to generate electricity subject to net metering up to one megawatt.
For the purposes of this article, the terms "farms and small industries" have the same meaning as the term "small business" is defined in section ten, article thirteen-q of this chapter.
§11-13Z-4. 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, farm owner or small industry, as defined in section three of this article, 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.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to give credit for energy savings when a solar energy system is installed on a residential, farm and small industry property. Farm and small industry property are given the same definition as "small business".

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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