Michigan House Passes Tax Breaks to Charge Utility Solar Boom

Michigan energy giants Consumers Energy and DTE Energy could score huge property tax breaks for their planned solar farm development under a bill package that passed the Michigan House.

The bills (Senate Bills 1105 and 1106) would impose a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes system for personal property taxes levied on expensive equipment used to generate, store, and transport electricity at solar farms.

The payment would be $4,000 per megawatt of generation and $500 for battery storage devices, which local governments claim could cut their property taxes on the equipment by “20 cents on the dollar” according to testimony submitted by the Michigan ...