Iowa: Math Error A Blow To Wind Farms



Omaha World-Herald



DES
MOINES (AP) – A bill that sailed through the Iowa Legislature on the
final day of the session contained a mathematical error that wipes out
tax breaks intended for wind energy producers.



The
error delays a plan that state officials said would speed the number of
new projects over the next three years in Iowa, a state with a huge –
and largely untapped – potential to power homes, schools and businesses
through wind power.



Supporters
said the tax breaks would encourage construction of costly wind farms,
providing economic development in rural areas while helping to create a
source of renewable energy.



But the
glitch puts on hold several projects, including a $200 million wind
farm proposed in Iowa Falls that was waiting to proceed until the
incentives were in place.



“Nothing
is going to happen on their projects unless or until the error is
fixed,” said Steve Roberts, a lobbyist who represented wind energy
interests. “It's a meaningless piece of legislation at the moment.”



Whitney
& Co., a Stamford, Conn., venture capital firm that proposed the
massive 135-turbine farm in Iowa Falls and several other projects in
northern Iowa, has lobbied the Legislature unsuccessfully for two years
for the tax credits.



When
they failed to pass last year, the company threatened to relocate the
$300 million investment to another state. Roberts said the company is
upset over the error but hasn't decided how to proceed.



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