Wyoming Senate Bill Discourages Wind, Solar Electricity

A Bill introduced into the Wyoming State Senate would discourage using solar or wind power to generate electricity sold in the state.

Senate File 71 would impose a $10 per megawatt fee on any amount of electricity over five percent of the total generated by wind or solar energy by any electric utility in 2018.

For 2019, the bill calls the tax on any power at all generated using wind or solar power. But companies could get energy credit for every megawatt hour of electricity generated by non-renewable sources such as coal, natural gas, hydroelectric or similar traditional fuels.

That means in 2019 if a utility were generating 80 percent of its power from natural gas and 20 percent from wind energy, it could use 20 megawatt hours of electricity generated by natural gas to purchase credits to reach the "100 percent" non-renewable power mandated by the bill, if it becomes law.

The bill is co-sponsored by Senators Hicks and Driskill and Representative Baker, Blackburn, Clem, Edwards, Lindholm, Madden and MIller.