Tax committee examines 10-year property tax exemption for new energy storage systems, stakeholders raise industrial and legal concerns

House Bill 2083 would create a 10-year property tax exemption for new energy storage systems beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2025, and would exclude those systems from the commercial and industrial machinery and equipment (CIME) exemption. The bill defines a "new energy storage system" to mean a commercial- or utility-scale electrochemical, mechanical, electrostatic or gravitational device that charges or collects energy and excludes systems that received necessary county approval prior to Jan. 1, 2025.

Proponents including developers and trade groups told the Tax Committee they sought statutory clarity for how battery and other energy storage facilities will be taxed as the industry grows, while some industrial users cautioned the bill could widen tax disparities or invite litigation if industrial-scale storage systems are unintentionally swept into new rules.

Amelia (committee staff) opened the hearing and summarized the measure as a two-part change: (1) a new 10-year property tax exemption for qualifying energy storage systems and (2) removal of those systems from the CIME exemption statute (described in…