Wyoming lawmakers have killed a bill to increase taxes on wind energy despite lobbying by the fossil fuel industry.
The state joint revenue committee refused to impose a hike from $1 per MWh to $3.
The proposal threatened to disrupt plans to build the 3GW Chokecherry and Sierra Madre wind farm in Carbon County, which the Power Company of Wyoming (PCW) planned to start by the end of 2016.
Such a tax increase would have made it impossible for the facility to compete on price with other wind or solar projects, PCW president Bill Miller said earlier this year.
Wyoming is the only state with a generation tax and wind already pays more than either coal or gas, according to Miller.
PCW has yet to sign a power purchase agreement but plans to export electricity about 800 miles south to California, Arizona and Nevada.
The developer proposes to build the 1000-turbine wind farm in two phases and expects to receive final permits for the first 500-turbine part in the coming weeks.
The $5bn project will employ about 945 workers at the peak of construction and about 114 operations and maintenance staff.
PCW is owned by Anschutz, a private company based in Denver.
Image: sxc
