ND Governor Signs Legislation for Ag-Based Renewable Fuels

The seven bills the Governor signed include HB 1462, which adopts the 25X25 Initiative and establishes an energy independence council; SB 2180, which creates a $5 million Biofuels PACE Fund; SB 2288, which creates the $3 million Renewable Energy Grant Fund, HB 1515, which creates the Biomass Demonstration Project; HB 1233, which creates $3 million of tradable income tax credits for installation of geothermal, solar and wind energy devices; HB1317, which extends a property tax deduction for wind generation units from 3 to 1.5 percent; and HB 1020, which increases the General Fund appropriation for NDSU Agriculture by 34 percent.

"Agriculture is our number one industry, and renewable energy and value-added food and fiber offer unprecedented opportunities for our producers," Hoeven said. "The incentives we worked to pass this session will help us develop new and better products for larger and broader markets than ever before."

Other relevant legislation signed at the same time includes a $7.3 million Governor's Ethanol Production Incentive Fund; a $2.2 million sales and use tax exemption for materials used to construct co-generation power plants in conjunction with value added agriculture projects; expansion of Value Added Agriculture Investment Tax Credits with the potential to generate investments in 10 projects per year, including renewable energy projects; five projects with $10 million in investments; a state objective of 10% of electricity produced from renewable sources by 2015; and a requirement for ethanol blend pumps to have an ethanol promotion label.