In it to Wind It

Will landowners lose their “ag exemption” for property taxes if they lease their land to a wind farm?

Chief Appraiser Richard Moring of the Fayette County Appraisal District (Fayette CAD) said he does not believe so.

In an interview with the Fayette County Record last Friday, Moring said he consulted with appraisal districts in other parts of the state where wind farms operate. He also consulted with his office’s legal counsel about the issue.

“I’m of the opinion, if they go in there and plant the turbines, provided that nothing else changes, (the land) would continue to qualify for ag use appraisal,” Moring said. “I think that’s the position pretty much statewide. I’m certainly not going to go down a different path.”

For example, Moring said, if cattle can graze up to the footprint of the windmill pedestal, the land would continue to qualify for agricultural use.

“As long as it’s not fenced off or anything like that,” he said.

Moring said the company that owns the windmill equipment would pay property taxes on the improvements, similar to other kinds personal property subject to ad valorem taxes.

He said Fayette CAD hires a third party contractor, Pritchard and Abbott LLC, to appraise industrial improvements and mineral values. Moring said Fayette CAD would likely rely on their expertise to appraise the windmill equipment. But landowners would not be liable for those taxes. Those taxes would be paid by the wind power company, he said.

“They’re the ones who own it,” Moring said. “It would be treated like personal property.”

Moring said he was unsure about the impact of wind turbine leases on property appraised for wildlife management.

“This one is a little tougher to answer,” he said. “In my mind, it seems that it would be hard for turbines and wildlife management to co-exist. I suppose we would have to look at those properties on a case-by-case basis.”