The story is from Canada, but this sort of gotcha could spring up anywhere.
Farm windmill generates tax puzzle
Assessment agency looking to finance ministry for answers on renewable-energy technologies and property tax increasesThe Municipal Property Assessment Corp., a non-profit organization responsible for assessing municipal property taxes in Ontario, has asked the finance ministry to clarify rules that could prove a major setback for renewable energy projects in the province.
At issue is whether wind turbines and solar panels add enough value to a property to trigger an increase in annual property taxes. The concern is that the tax increase would offset energy savings or the revenues from clean electricity sold into the grid, reducing the incentive to embrace renewable-energy technologies.
The uncertainty was raised last month when Guelph-area resident Max Woschnigg was told that the 80-kilowatt, 40-metre high wind turbine he installed on his farm in December had increased his property's assessed value by $59,000.
"I came back from holidays and had a note to call them back, and that's what they told me," Woschnigg, a 74-year-old retiree, told the Star.
"I was quite upset."
Woschnigg purchased the turbine from Holland and installed it at a cost of $160,000. The electricity produced from the turbine, more than double what he uses, is fed back into the grid under the government's net-metering program and saves Woschnigg an average of $3,600 a year.
He said the increase in property value, and anticipated property tax hike, would likely erase a lion's share of his energy savings.
Oops.