The Oklahoma House passed a plan Thursday to end the state’s wind energy tax credit ahead of schedule.
The renewable energy tax credit, which covers wind, hydroelectric, solar and geothermal energy producers, is set to expire in three and a half years, but House Bill 2298 would eliminate it for wind projects in three and a half months.
HB2298 ends the credit for wind projects July 1, while the entire credit will end Jan. 1, 2021. Minority Leader Scott Inman said the change will affect several companies who have incorporated the credit into their plans between those two dates.
"If you're a banker who helps to bankroll these, if you're a private investor ... if you're Google, who may be on the line saying, 'I want to buy some of that energy, and I'm going to get it at a discounted rate to help develop the jobs I've got in Pryor, Okla.,' you've got to look at that and think, 'Wait a minute. We've put our plan together, and the legislature in Oklahoma made a promise to us. And now they're reneging on it,'" Inman said.
Inman said GE, Google and Siemens oppose the bill, but if the expiration date were moved, possibly just to the end of the year, he’d support it.
Oklahoma City Republican Jon Echols said wind companies he’s spoken to are OK with that timetable, and the savings can be put toward an unfunded proposal to raise teachers’ pay.
"We need around $110 million in next year's budget. I have $25 to $50 million for you right here. We just paid for half of it," Echols said.
Supporters of HB2298 said the wind energy industry is doing better than expected, which has the measure's opponents worried about the future. Inman asked Echols if he could commit to not placing a production tax on wind energy companies.
"There's some other commitments we could make, but not — I don't know that we could do that one," Echols said. "But I could promise that I can't count to three-quarters without your caucus."
Tax proposals must get a three-quarters supermajority in the legislature.
HB2298 passed 74–24.
