2006 New Mexico Statutes - Section 7-2A-19 — Renewable energy production tax credit; limitations; definitions; claiming the credit.

7-2A-19. Renewable energy production tax credit; limitations; definitions; claiming the credit.

A.     The tax credit provided in this section may be referred to as the "renewable energy production tax credit".

B.     A person is eligible for the renewable energy production tax credit if the person:

(1)     holds title to a qualified energy generator; or

(2)     leases property upon which a qualified energy generator operates from a county or municipality under authority of an industrial revenue bond.

C.     The amount of the tax credit shall equal one cent ($.01) per kilowatt-hour of the first four hundred thousand megawatt-hours of electricity produced by the qualified energy generator in the taxable year, provided that the total amount of tax credits claimed by all taxpayers for a single qualified energy generator in a taxable year shall not exceed one cent ($.01) per kilowatt-hour of the first four hundred thousand megawatt-hours of electricity produced by the qualified energy generator.

D.     A taxpayer eligible for a renewable energy production tax credit pursuant to Subsection B of this section shall be eligible for the renewable energy production tax credit for ten consecutive years, beginning on the date the qualified energy generator begins producing electricity.

E.     As used in this section:

(1)     "biomass" means agricultural or animal waste; thinnings from trees less than fifteen inches in diameter, slash and brush; lumbermill or sawmill residues; and salt cedar and other phreatophytes removed from watersheds or river basins;

(2)     "qualified energy generator" means a facility with at least ten megawatts generating capacity located in New Mexico that produces electricity using a qualified energy resource and that sells that electricity to an unrelated person; and

(3)     "qualified energy resource" means a resource that generates electrical energy by means of a fluidized bed technology or similar low-emissions technology or a zero-emissions generation technology that has substantial long-term production potential and that uses only the following energy sources:

(a)     solar light;

(b)     solar heat;

(c)     wind; or

(d)     biomass.

F.     A person that holds title to a facility generating electricity from a qualified energy resource or one that leases such a facility from a county or municipality pursuant to an industrial revenue bond may request certification of eligibility for the renewable energy production tax credit from the energy, minerals and natural resources department, which shall determine if the facility is a qualified energy generator; provided that the department may certify the eligibility of an energy generator only if the total amount of electricity that may be produced annually by all qualified energy generators that are certified will not exceed two million megawatt-hours.  Applications shall be considered in the order received.  The energy, minerals and natural resources department may estimate the annual power-generating potential of a generating facility for the purposes of this section.  The energy, minerals and natural resources department shall issue a certificate to the applicant stating whether the facility is an eligible qualified energy generator and the estimated annual production potential of the generating facility, which shall be the limit of that facility's energy production eligible for the tax credit for the taxable year.  The energy, minerals and natural resources department may issue rules governing the procedure for administering the provisions of this subsection.

G.     A taxpayer may be allocated all or a portion of the right to claim a renewable energy production tax credit without regard to proportional ownership interest if:

(1)     the taxpayer owns an interest in a business entity that is taxed for federal income tax purposes as a partnership;

(2)     the business entity:

(a)     would qualify for the renewable energy production tax credit pursuant to Paragraph (1) or (2) of Subsection B of this section;

(b)     owns an interest in a business entity that is also taxed for federal income tax purposes as a partnership and that would qualify for the renewable energy production tax credit pursuant to Paragraph (1) or (2) of Subsection B of this section; or

(c)     owns, through one or more intermediate business entities that are each taxed for federal income tax purposes as a partnership, an interest in the business entity described in Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (2) of this subsection;

(3)     the taxpayer and all other taxpayers allocated a right to claim the renewable energy production tax credit pursuant to this subsection own collectively at least a five percent interest in a qualified energy generator;

(4)     the business entity provides notice of the allocation and the taxpayer's interest to the energy, minerals and natural resources department on forms prescribed by that department; and

(5)     the energy, minerals and natural resources department certifies the allocation in writing to the taxpayer.

H.     Upon receipt of notice of an allocation of the right to claim all or a portion of the renewable energy production tax credit, the energy, minerals and natural resources department shall promptly certify the allocation in writing to the recipient of the allocation.

I.     A taxpayer may claim the renewable energy production tax credit by submitting to the taxation and revenue department the certificate issued by the energy, minerals and natural resources department, pursuant to Subsection F or G of this section, documentation showing the taxpayer's interest in the facility, documentation of the amount of electricity produced by the facility in the taxable year and any other information the taxation and revenue department may require to determine the amount of the tax credit due the taxpayer.

J.     Once a taxpayer has been granted a renewable energy production tax credit for a given facility, that taxpayer shall be allowed to retain the facility's original date of application for tax credits for that facility until either the facility goes out of production for more than six consecutive months in a year or until the facility's ten-year eligibility has expired.

K.     The renewable energy production tax credit may be deducted from the taxpayer's New Mexico corporate income tax liability for a taxable year.  If the amount of the tax credit claimed exceeds the taxpayer's corporate income tax liability, the excess may be carried forward for up to five consecutive taxable years.