Mississippi: Refund of Ad Valorem Taxes

The Mississippi Attorney General has issued an opinion that a county board of supervisors may issue a refund of erroneously paid ad valorem taxes that were paid in protest by an exempt entity. The exempt entity made payments for the 2007, 2008, and 2009 tax year in February of 2010 and requested a refund of the taxes paid in protest on October 17, 2012. A county board of supervisors has the authority to issue a refund of excess or erroneously collected taxes paid within three years of the date the petition for such refund is filed with the tax collector. Miss. Code Ann.§ 27-73-7 authorizes a tax collector, upon request by a taxpayer, and upon order of the board of supervisors, to refund erroneously paid taxes. The statute of limitations for such a refund of ad valorem taxes is controlled by Miss. Code Ann.§ 15-1-49, which requires that a refund of ad valorem taxes may only be issued for payments that were made within three years of the date the petition for a refund was filed.

Tax Credits Available for Clean Energy Manufacturers

The U.S. Departments of Energy and the Treasury on February 7 announced the availability of $150 million in Advanced Energy Manufacturing tax credits for clean energy and energy efficiency manufacturing projects across the United States. The program supports manufacturing of a range of clean energy products, from renewable energy equipment to energy efficiency products. Established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the initial round provided $2.3 billion in credits to 183 projects across the country. The $150 million in tax credits are being made available because they were not used by the previous awardees.

The tax credits will be allocated on a competitive basis. Projects will be assessed by the Energy Department based on the following criteria: commercial viability, domestic job creation, technological innovation, speed to project completion, and potential for reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. The Department will also consider additional factors, including diversity of geographical locations, technology, project size, and regional economic development.

DOE Announces New Funding to Develop Biomass Supply Chain Technologies

The Energy Department on January 28 announced about $6 million for projects that will develop and demonstrate supply-chain technologies to affordably deliver commercial-scale lignocellulosic biomass feedstocks such as woody plant tissue to biorefineries across the country. This funding will help accelerate the development of integrated, cost-effective supply-chain systems that reduce time and costs to produce biofuels for cars, trucks, and airplanes.

The Department will make available about $6 million this year for one to two multi-year projects. All selected projects will require a cost share contribution by the grant recipient, including 20% for research and development activities and 50% for demonstration activities.

DOE Expands Technical Assistance for Tribal Energy Projects

The Energy Department on January 30 announced the second round of the Strategic Technical Assistance Response Team (START) Program, which provides federally recognized Tribal governments with technical assistance to accelerate clean energy project deployment. Additionally, the Energy Department plans to seek information from tribes interested in launching or expanding utility services in their own communities, which will help establish a new START Utility Program (START-UP). Additional details on this effort will be available on the Office of Indian Energy website in the coming weeks.

Over the past year, the START program has helped nine Tribal communities advance their clean energy technology and infrastructure projects, from solar and wind to biofuels and energy efficiency. The second round of technical assistance awards will build upon the initial successes of the START program and further help Native American and Alaska Native communities increase local generation capacity, enhance energy-efficiency measures, and create local entrepreneurial and job opportunities. In the contiguous United States, Energy Department and national laboratory experts will provide technical assistance on tribes' clean energy project development. In Alaska, the Energy Department and the Denali Commission will help rural Alaska Native communities conduct energy awareness and training programs and pursue new renewable energy and energy efficiency opportunities. Applications are due by March 15, 2013.