SO DAKOTA COULD BOOST WIND

SD panel urges cut in wind farm construction taxes
5 October 2011 (CNBC)

"A legislative task force recommended…the state cut construction taxes for wind farms to help South Dakota compete with nearby states in attracting projects that generate electricity from wind…[but] the Wind Energy Task Force will leave it up to Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the full Legislature to decide exactly how to reduce the contractor's excise tax and sales tax that apply to construction costs of wind farms.

"…[T]he task force...found that South Dakota's construction taxes are substantially higher than those charged by neighboring states…[C]onstruction taxes play an important role in determining the cost of a wind project, and South Dakota's contractor's excise tax puts it at a disadvantage to other states that do not have the tax…"

A huge asset, worth spending to develop (click to enlarge)

"Deputy Revenue Secretary David Wiest, also a task force member, cast the only vote against the recommendation to reduce construction taxes, saying he is not convinced South Dakota's taxes on wind farms are significantly higher than other states. South Dakota has other advantages, such as wind that keeps turbines turning a higher percentage of the time than in other states, he said…

"South Dakota charges a 4 percent sales tax on materials used in constructing wind farms and other projects. It also levies a 2 percent excise tax on a contractor's gross receipts for a project…[A]n analysis done by developers…found the South Dakota sales tax and contractor's excise tax on a 200-megawatt wind project, with an estimated price tag of about $360 million, would be $12.9 million under current law. Construction taxes on the same project would be $2 million in North Dakota, $2.8 million in Minnesota and $3.4 million in Iowa…"