Biomass Gasification and Methane Digester Property Tax Exemption

Michigan exempts certain energy production related farm facilities from real and personal property taxes. Among exempted property are certain methane digesters, biomass gasification equipment, thermal depolymerization systems, and equipment used to harvest crop residues or dedicated crops used for energy production. In order to be eligible for the exemption, methane digester equipment must be certified by the Michigan Department of Agriculture (MDA) and the farm must be verified as compliant under the Michigan Agriculture Environmental Assurance Program (MAEAP). In addition, the facility owner must allow "access for not more than 2 universities to collect information regarding the effectiveness of the methane digester and the methane digester electric generating system in generating electricity and processing animal waste and production area waste". The exemption includes equipment used to generate electricity from methane digester systems and equipment used to generate heat or electricity from biomass gasifiers.