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May 23, 2013

Favorable Tax Decision on Solar Array

Varnum LLP
Bruce Goodman
Varnum LLP
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Environmental, Energy & Resources / Tax
Michigan
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In December the Michigan Tax Tribunal ruled that a ground-mounded solar array is personal property and not real property for local taxing purposes. The 147 kW photovoltaic electric generating facility in question, built by Helios Solar, LLC of Kalamazoo and owned by Kalamazoo Solar, LLC, sells electricity to Consumers Energy under its feed-in tariff program. The local township had been taxing it as real property, with a true cash value assessment of over $1 Million. The ruling that it had to be taxed as personal and not real property overcame the common law argument that the solar array could be deemed real property since it was affixed to the land. The authority for the decision was founded, in part, on tax exemption provisions of the Next Energy Authority Act (2002 PA 593).

© 2013 Varnum LLP

About the Author

Bruce Goodman
Partner

Bruce Goodman practices environmental law, energy law and construction law. His environmental expertise includes air quality permitting work, compliance counseling on air emissions, state and federal enforcement defense issues, and environmental management program development. His energy expertise includes negotiating numerous electric power sales agreements, both for wholesale sellers of energy and for retail consumers of energy, state rate cases, developing municipal energy tariffs, and energy project permitting....

bgoodman@varnumlaw.com
616-336-6743
www.varnumlaw.com/people/bruce-goodman/

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