R362-2-15. Certification of Production Tax Credit Eligibility

  (A) Businesses seeking to claim production tax credits must first apply to OED for certification that a commercial energy system has been installed, is a viable energy production system, and meets all other relevant requirements of Sections 59-7-614 and 59-10-1106. Such certification shall be sought within the first six months of the system being placed into commercial service.

  (B) Eligibility for production tax credits is limited to commercial energy systems that are also any of the following:

  1. Biomass systems;

  2. Wind energy systems; or

  3. Geothermal electricity systems.

  In addition, the name plate capacity of any system seeking production tax credits must be 660 kilowatts or greater. Electricity produced by the system must either be used by the business seeking a production tax credit or sold in order to be eligible for credits.

  (C) Businesses may request certification by providing the following to OED:

  1. A written request for certification of a commercial energy system for eligibility to receive a production tax credit;

  2. Information about the company seeking certification, including legal name, type of legal entity, address, telephone number, and the name and telephone number of a contact person regarding the request;

  3. A description of the commercial energy system including the type of facility, total nameplate capacity, the methods to be used to produce fuel or electricity, and a list of major fuel or electricity producing components. Systems generating electricity should also provide the number, manufacturer, and model number of generating turbines to be used;

  4. Information on the location of the commercial energy system sufficient to permit site inspection by OED staff. For wind farms this should include a map of the turbine layout. For geothermal systems this should include a map showing production and injection wells along with the location of the generating turbine or turbines;

  5. Photographs of key and/or representative components of the commercial energy system;

  6. Projected annual electricity production in kilowatt hours for the commercial energy system once it has entered commercial service;

  7. The date on which the commercial energy system entered or is expected to enter commercial service.

  (D) A business requesting certification for production tax credits must also include with its request information on ownership of the commercial energy system. If the business seeking tax credit certification leases the commercial energy system, it must provide with its request evidence that the lessor of the system has irrevocably elected not to claim production tax credits for the system.

  (E) If a business plans to claim production tax credits for electricity that is used and not sold, it must install a separate metering system to measure the electricity production of the commercial energy system. Such metering should be unidirectional, tamperproof, and should measure only the electricity production attributable to the commercial energy system. The meter must also measure net electricity from the system (i.e. gross electricity from the generator minus any electricity used to operate the system itself).

  (F) Upon receipt of a request for certification, OED staff will assess whether the commercial energy system applying for production tax credit certification is a viable system and whether the system has been completely installed. OED may request that a field inspection take place to verify information in the certification request and to ensure that the system conforms with the requirements of Section 59-7-614 and with this rule.

  (G) OED will respond to a request for certification of eligibility for production tax credits within sixty days of receipt. However, if incomplete information is received or permission for field inspection has not been granted after sixty days, OED will have an additional 30 days after receipt of complete information and/or field inspection to respond positively or negatively to a certification request.

  (H) Consistent with Title 63G, Chapter 4 (Administrative Procedures Act), upon its decision to grant or deny a certification request, OED will inform the requesting company in writing of its decision. A copy of the written decision will also be provided to the Utah State Tax Commission in order to document the company's eligibility to claim production tax credits on future tax returns.