Illinois’ taxing model for wind energy companies is touted as one of the best in the country, bringing in $30.4 million in property taxes in 2016, according to economic experts.

Barton DeLacy, a tax expert from Chicago, said that the Illinois system is a good model that is very close to the value he gives to wind farms and is much more consistent than in other states.

“Ironically, the one area where Illinois actually got their act together and legislated a solution was regarding the taxation of wind farms,” said DeLacy, who said that much of the rest of the country uses a “patchwork” system.

The change came in 2007, after the Illinois state legislature determined the state's haphazard system of property tax assessments created inconsistent and confusing assessments for wind energy companies.

Up until then, wind farms were assessed on a county-by-county basis leading to a system where schools were not being able to predict how much revenue they would receive from the taxes and companies being uncertain on how much they would have to pay each year.

Read the full article about Illinois as property tax model for wind farms by Johnathan Hettinger at Harvest Public Media.