ontario regulation 1/12

made under the

assessment act

Made: December 20, 2011
Filed: January 4, 2012
Published on e-Laws: January 4, 2012
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: January 21, 2012


Amending O. Reg. 282/98

(General)

1. Subparagraph 1 xiii of subsection 3 (1) of Ontario Regulation 282/98 is revoked.

2. Subsection 8 (5.3) of the Regulation is revoked.

3. The Regulation is amended by adding the following Part:

part viii.1
assessment of renewable energy installations

Interpretation

42.1 In this Part,

“installed capacity” means, with respect to machinery and equipment used to produce electricity, the rated maximum output capacity as stated on the nameplate of the machinery or equipment;

“wind turbine tower” means the structure that supports an electrical generator and electrical and mechanical equipment used to convert wind energy into electricity, and includes the base and foundation to which the structure is attached, but does not include,

(a) any additional land, building and structures, or

(b) any transformer, transmission or distribution line or other equipment.

Renewable Energy Sources: Sun, Wind, Anaerobic Digestion of Organic Matter

42.2 (1) This section applies to land on which is installed machinery or equipment used to produce electricity from the sun or the wind or through anaerobic digestion of organic matter, if the production of electricity is ancillary to another use on the same site.

(2) However, this section does not apply in any of the following circumstances:

1. If the land is used to produce electricity by a person who generates, distributes, transmits or retails electricity or another form of energy as the person’s principal business.

2. If subsection 42.3 (1) applies to the land.

3. If section 42.4 applies to the land.

(3) Despite paragraph 1 of subsection (2), this section applies to land used by a renewable energy co-operative within the meaning of the Co-operative Corporations Act, the membership of which is restricted to natural persons, to produce electricity.

(4) Despite paragraph 1 of subsection (2), this section applies to land used by any of the following entities to produce electricity, if the primary purpose of the entity is the generation of electricity and if the land on which the generation occurs is valued under subsection 19 (5) of the Act:

1. A sole proprietorship comprised of a person who carries on a farming business within the meaning of the Income Tax Act (Canada).

2. A co-operative corporation, all of whose members are persons who carry on such a farming business.

3. A partnership, all of whose partners carry on such a farming business.

4. A corporation, all of whose members or shareholders are persons who carry on such a farming business.

(5) If the installed capacity of the machinery or equipment used to produce electricity from the sun or the wind or through anaerobic digestion of organic matter is 0.01 megawatts or less, the classification of the land (including a wind turbine tower that supports the machinery or equipment) is not changed and the current value of the land (including the wind turbine tower) is not increased as a result of the installation or use of the machinery or equipment.

(6) If the installed capacity of the machinery or equipment used to produce electricity from the sun or the wind or through anaerobic digestion of organic matter is greater than 0.01 megawatts but not greater than 0.5 megawatts, the classification of the land is not changed as a result of the installation or use of the machinery or equipment.

(7) If the installed capacity of the machinery or equipment used to produce electricity from the sun or the wind or through anaerobic digestion of organic matter is greater than 0.5 megawatts and if the land would be classified in a class other than the industrial class, but for the installation of the machinery or equipment, the land remains classified, in part, in that other class and is classified, in part, in the industrial class.  The proportion of the land that remains classified in that other class is determined using the ratio,

0.5/A

in which,

  “A” is the installed capacity of the machinery or equipment, expressed in megawatts.

(8) The current value of land to which this section applies shall be determined based on its classification, but the current value of land that is determined under subsection 19 (5) of the Act continues to be determined under that subsection as if the land was used for farm purposes only.

42.3 (1) If machinery or equipment used to produce electricity from the sun or the wind or through anaerobic digestion of organic matter is an ancillary installation on the rooftop of a building or other structure, the classification of the land is not changed and the current value of the land is not increased as a result of the installation or use of the machinery or equipment.

(2) For the purposes of subsection 3 (8) of the Act, the sun, the wind and the anaerobic digestion of organic matter are prescribed as renewable energy sources and if machinery or equipment used to produce electricity from such a source is installed on the rooftop of a building or other structure on land that would otherwise be exempt from taxation, the land remains exempt from taxation, regardless of whether the generation is performed by the owner or a tenant of the property.

42.4 If machinery or equipment used to produce electricity through anaerobic digestion of organic matter is located on land whose current value is determined under subsection 19 (5) of the Act,

(a) the classification of the land is not changed as a result of the installation or use of the machinery or equipment; and

(b) the current value of the land continues to be determined under subsection 19 (5) of the Act as if the land was used for farm purposes only.

Wind Turbine Towers

42.5 (1) Wind turbine towers are prescribed as generating station structures for the purposes of section 19.0.1 of the Act.

(2) The current value of a wind turbine tower is determined by multiplying $40,000 by the installed capacity in megawatts of the generator attached to the wind turbine tower.

(3) For the purposes of clause 19.0.1 (1) (b) of the Act, the assessed value of a generating station structure that is a wind turbine tower is determined by multiplying $40,000 by the installed capacity in megawatts of the generator attached to the wind turbine tower.

Systems for Energy Conservation or Energy Efficiency

42.6 The following rules apply if an active solar heating or cooling system or a ground-sourced geothermal heating or cooling system has been installed on, erected or placed upon, in, over, under or affixed to land:

1. If the system would result in an increase to the value of the land, the current value of the land shall not reflect that increase and the land must be instead assessed as if it contained a non-renewable energy system that is typically found in similar lands in the vicinity.

2. If the system would result in a decrease to the value of the land, the current value of the land shall reflect that decrease and the land must be assessed at the lesser value.

4. The heading before section 45.4 and section 45.4 of the Regulation are revoked.

Commencement

5. This Regulation is deemed to have come into force on January 1, 2011.

Made by:

Dwight Douglas Duncan

Minister of Finance

Date made: December 20, 2011.