Two bills that aim to advance the concept of a uniform capacity tax for solar photovoltaic (PV) systems and battery energy storage systems (BESS) were the subject of a public hearing before the Connecticut General Assembly’s Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee on April 2, 2025.
House Bill No. 7266 would create a statewide uniform solar capacity tax for solar PV systems that have a nameplate capacity in excess of two megawatts and are designed to put energy into the grid. The tax, which would be in place of the traditional property tax, would be at the annual rate of $12,000 per megawatt of nameplate capacity beginning July 1, 2026. The tax would increase 2% annually thereafter unless the owner and the host municipality agree upon a different arrangement. The bill details the mechanics of the proposed tax and how it would be collected.
House Bill No. 7265 seeks the creation of a working group to study the possible implementation of a uniform energy storage capacity tax for BESS. If such a working group is constituted, it would be required to deliver its report to the General Assembly by January 1, 2026 so that it could be considered as the basis for the possible development of legislation next year. A prior blog post discussed the report of a similar working group that studied the creation of a uniform solar capacity tax in advance of this year’s legislative session.
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