County assessor outlines how energy projects are taxed and the impact on local revenue

Burton Hilton, White Pine County Assessor, told the Natural Resources Advisory Committee that property-tax bills on energy projects follow standard valuation formulas and lien-date rules and that construction work-in-progress is taxed as percent complete. "The formula for property taxes was assessed value times the tax rate of 3.66%," Hilton said.

Hilton walked the committee through the differences between centrally assessed properties (such as some electric companies and Mt. Wheeler Power) and locally assessed projects. He explained methods used to estimate construction costs, including Marshall & Swift pricing and outside appraisers for complex renewable projects once construction begins. Hilton also described how contractors are taxed for equipment present on the lien date (commonly July 1) and said assessors try to avoid double-taxing equipment while it is moved between counties.

Hilton used Spring Valley Wind as an example of a project with an atypical tax schedule, noting a $552,000 tax bill that year and a 55% abatement for 20 years that changed both the county's near-term receipts and payments into a renewable-energy fund. He cautioned that some revenue categories — notably net proceeds from mining — are paid on a calendar-year basis and can vary significantly from year to year, limiting the county's ability to predict revenues.