Texas Appeals Court Orders New Trial on Wind Farm Tax Valuation

A wind farm owner convinced a Texas appeals court Tuesday to topple a jury verdict valuing its property at $197.4 million because it included nontaxable intangible personal property.

Federal production tax credits and power purchase agreements are intangible assets that can’t be considered when assessing the value of Rocksprings Val Verde Wind LLC’s property, the Texas Court of Appeals, Fourth District, ruled.

The Val Verde County Appraisal District’s expert admitted at trial that without taking those intangibles into account, his valuation would be close to the Rocksprings’s valuation of $65.5 million, Justice Irene Rios said, noting the case raised ...