O F F I C E O F L E G I S L A T I V E R E S E A R C H
P U B L I C A C T S U M M A R Y
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PA 21-180—sHB 6106
Planning and Development Committee
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E PROPERTY TAX EXEMP TION FOR
CERTAIN RENEWABLE EN ERGY SOURCES AND HYD ROPOWER
FACILITIES
SUMMARY: Existing law exempts from property tax Class I renewable energy
sources (e.g., wind and solar) installed on or after October 1, 2007, for private
residential or farm use. This act generally expands eligibility for the exemption by
prohibiting these sources from being disqualified for the exemption because they
(1) participate in net metering, tariff policies, or other state programs or (2) are
owned by a party other than the owner of the property where the source is
installed (e.g., leased solar panels). But the act also imposes size restrictions by
limiting eligibility to sources whose estimated annual production does not exceed
the estimated annual load where the source is located.
The act also makes several changes to the application form taxpayers must file
to claim this exemption and other exemptions for renewable energy sources (e.g.,
solar water or space heating systems or geothermal energy resources, including
those used for commercial or industrial purposes). The changes include requiring
(1) owners of residential facilities to include the source’s estimated annual
production and location’s estimated annual load and (2) the Office of Policy and
Management (OPM), rather than municipalities, to prepare the application form.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2021, and applicable to assessment years on or
after that date.
EXEMPTION APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
To claim the property tax exemptions for the renewable energy sources
described above, existing law requires taxpayers to file an application with the
assessor or board of assessors. Under prior law, assessors provided the application
form. The act instead requires the OPM secretary, in consultation with the
Connecticut Association of Assessing Officers and Connecticut Green Bank, to
prepare the form and make it publicly available on its website.
The act requires applications for residential- or farm-use sources to include a
statement of the source’s estimated annual load and production as of its
installation date. The act also allows someone owning multiple sources in the
same municipality to file a single application identifying each one.