"Proposed legislation currently pending the United States Senate and House of Representatives seek to allow developers of renewable energy products to take advantage of tax incentives for projects on Native American lands. Senate Bill 802 and House Bill 2982 would allow renewable energy production tax credits to be transferred and apportioned between co-owners of a facility that produces renewable energy on tribal lands. If passed, this legislation would open significant amount of Native American lands to the development of renewable energy.

Under the US Tax Code, there are production tax credits (PTC) available for certain renewable and alternative energy projects. Those eligible for tax credits may take tax credits for projects put into service before December 31, 2016, for solar energy, fuel cells, wind turbines, geothermal systems, and combined heat and power systems. The PTC is available only to a taxpayer that constructs the system and first puts it into use.

As Native American tribes are not taxable entities, they cannot currently avail themselves of the PTC. This problem with incentivizing renewable energy also crops up when a non-profit entity intends to build and use a reneable energy system. There are contractual ways to organize the transaction in order for a for-proft developer to obtain the PTC, but the process can be cumbersome and technically difficult. The currently pending bills intend to simplify that process for Native American tribes and allow them directly to become involved in the development of renewable energy projects on tribal lands."

Get the Story:
Saulius Mikalonis: Native Americans try to catch the (tax incentives for) wind (and other renewables) (Michigan Live 4/16)

Related Stories:
Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing on energy draft (4/13)