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BioFuelsBioEnergy Incentives

State

Tax Credit for Individuals Installing Non-fossil Forms of Generation

Montana resident individuals may claim an income tax credit of up to $500 for installing a recognized nonfossil form of energy generation or heating, including low-emission wood or biomass combustion devices, in their principal residence. If necessary, the credit may be carried over for up to four years after the first year it is claimed. More...

Property Tax Exemption for Buildings Using Renewable Energy

Certain amounts ($20,000 for a single-family residential dwelling or $100,000 for all other structures) of the assessed value of non-fossil forms of energy generation equipment or low-emission wood or biomass combustors are exempt from property taxes for 10 years following installation. More...

Alternative Energy Loan Program

The Alternative Energy Revolving Loan Program (AERLP) was established by the 57th Montana Legislature in Senate Bill 506 and amended in 2005. Its purpose is to provide a financing option to Montana homeowners, small businesses, non-profits and government entities to install alternative energy systems that generate energy for their own use. Loans can be made up to a maximum of $40,000 (subject to available funds), and may be repaid in up to ten years, depending on the loan amount. Interest rates are set annually and are fixed for the term of the loan. The interest rate for 2008 is 5 percent. More...

 

Federal

Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI)

The federal Renewable Energy Production Incentive (REPI) provides incentive payments for electricity produced and sold by new qualifying renewable energy facilities. Qualifying systems are eligible for annual incentive payments of 1.5¢ per kilowatt-hour (in 1993 dollars and indexed for inflation) for the first 10-year period of their operation, subject to the availability of annual appropriations in each federal fiscal year of operation.  

Section 202 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( H.R. 6 ) reauthorized appropriations for fiscal years 2006 through 2026 and expanded the list of eligible technologies and facilities owners. See the link to 42 USC § 13317, provided above, for details.  

Eligible electric production facilities include not-for-profit electrical cooperatives, public utilities, state governments, Commonwealths, territories, possessions of the United States, the District of Columbia, Indian tribal governments, or a political subdivision thereof and Native Corporations. The production payment applies only to the electricity sold to another entity.  

Qualifying systems must generate electricity using solar, wind, geothermal (with certain restrictions), biomass,* landfill gas, livestock methane, or ocean (including tidal, wave, current, and thermal) generation technologies. Fuel cells using hydrogen derived from eligible biomass facilities are also eligible. More...

Hybrid and Diesel Vehicle Tax Credit

You can get an income tax credit of $250-$3,400 for buying or leasing a new hybrid gas-electric or diesel automobile. When it comes time to replace your old, fuel-inefficient vehicle for a new efficient hybrid or low-emissions vehicle, please consider converting your old vehicle into a tax-deductible donation to the Alliance . Through our vehicle recycle service, we ensure that your old, fuel-inefficient vehicle will be permanently and responsibly taken off the roads through proper scrapping and recycling.

Who gets it? Individuals and businesses that buy a new hybrid or diesel car or truck. If a tax-exempt organization buys such a vehicle, the retailer may take the credit. For leased vehicles, the lesser may claim the credit.

What vehicles qualify? Hybrid vehicles that use less gasoline than the average vehicle of similar weight and that meet an emissions standard. “Lean-burn” diesel vehicles also qualify, but only a few diesel vehicles meet the emissions standard (see below). There is a similar credit for plug-in hybrid or pure electric vehicles (which you can power by plugging them into a wall socket), alternative-fuel vehicles and fuel-cell vehicles, but these are not widely available. The vehicle must be in the United States.

How much is the credit? The tax credit amount could range from $250 to $3,400 depending on the fuel economy and the weight. If you buy more than one eligible vehicle, you can get a tax credit for each vehicle.

See the list of qualifying hybrid vehicles and credit amounts on the Alliance to Save Energy website.

For more information on tax incentives, see

 

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