The Iowa Senate has passed a bill by a vote of 46 to zero that aims to extend the deadline for renewable energy projects to qualify for the state’s renewable energy tax credits. It also has provisions that apply to cogeneration projects associated with ethanol plants.

The measure, S.F. 2343, extends the placed-in-service deadline for claiming the state’s renewable energy tax credit by two years, from Jan. 1, 2015 to Jan. 1, 2017. While the provision allowing the credit to be claimed for only 10 years remains, the bill extends the date that renewable energy tax credit certificates can be issued by two years, from Dec. 31, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2026.

The bill also adds methane, landfill gas and biogas to a provision of the tax credit language that noted “…ten megawatts of nameplate generating capacity shall be reserved for natural gas cogeneration facilities incorporated within or associated with an ethanol plant to assist the ethanol plan in meeting a low carbon fuel standard.” In addition to opening up that 10 MW of reserved capacity to biogas, the bill also adds language specifying that thermal heat generated by the cogeneration facility and used for a commercial purpose can also be counted toward satisfying the 10 MW reservation requirement.

Another new provision included in the bill aims to add language to the state’s renewable energy tax credit that specifies a facility that has been granted eligibility prior to July 1, 2014 for a natural gas cogeneration facility incorporated within or associated with an ethanol plant would not be required to submit a new application if the facility constructs or utilizes methane and landfill gas or biogas cogeneration facilities on or after that that, so long as no other significant changes to the facility or its status as an eligible facility for the credit are made.