1.    A taxpayer filing a North Dakota income tax return pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may claim a credit against the tax liability under section 57-38-30 for the cost of a geothermal, solar, or biomass energy device installed before January 1, 2015, in a building or on property owned or leased by the taxpayer in North Dakota. A wind energy device on which construction was commenced before January 1, 2015, and which is installed before January 1, 2017, is eligible for the credit provided in this section. The credit for a device installed before January 1, 2001, must be in an amount equal to five percent per year for three years, and for a device installed after December 31, 2000, must be in an amount equal to three percent per year for five years of the actual cost of acquisition and installation of the geothermal, solar, wind, or biomass energy device and must be subtracted from any income tax liability of the taxpayer as determined pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

2.    For the purposes of this section:

a.    “Biomass energy device” means a system using agricultural crops, wastes, or residues; wood or wood wastes or residues; animal wastes; landfill gas; or other biological sources to produce fuel or electricity.

b. “Geothermal energy device” means a system or mechanism or series of mechanisms designed to provide heating or cooling or to produce electrical or mechanical power, or any combination of these, by a method which extracts or converts the energy naturally occurring beneath the earth’s surface in rock structures, water, or steam.

c. “Solar or wind energy device” means a system or mechanism or series of mechanisms designed to provide heating or cooling or to produce electrical or     mechanical power, or any combination of these, or to store any of these, by a method which converts the natural energy of the sun or wind.

3.    If a geothermal, solar, wind, or biomass energy device is a part of a system which uses other means of energy, only that portion of the total system directly attributable to the cost of the geothermal, solar, wind, or biomass energy device may be included in determining the amount of the credit. The costs of installation may not include costs of redesigning, remodeling, or otherwise altering the structure of a building in which a geothermal, solar, wind, or biomass energy device is installed.

4.    A partnership, subchapter S corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company, or any other passthrough entity that installs a geothermal, solar, wind, or biomass energy device in a building or on property owned or leased by the passthrough entity must be considered to be the taxpayer for purposes of this section, and the amount of the credit allowed with respect to the entity’s investments must be determined at the passthrough entity level. The amount of the total credit determined at the entity level must be passed through to the corporate partners, shareholders, or members in proportion to their respective interests in the passthrough entity.

5.    If a taxpayer entitled to the credit provided by this section is a member of a group of corporations filing a North Dakota consolidated tax return using the combined reporting method, the credit may be claimed against the aggregate North Dakota tax liability of all of the corporations included in the North Dakota consolidated return.

6.     a.    The credit allowed under this section may not exceed the liability for tax under this chapter. If the amount of credit determined under this section exceeds the liability for tax under this chapter, the excess may be used as a credit carryover to each of the five succeeding taxable years.

b.    Any excess tax credits earned for wind energy devices installed after September 30, 2008, and before January 1, 2012, may be used as a credit carryover to each of the thirty succeeding taxable years.

c.    For any tax credits for geothermal, solar, or biomass energy devices installed after September 30, 2008, and wind energy devices installed after December 31, 2011, the excess may be used as a credit carryover to each of the ten succeeding taxable years.

7.    For geothermal, solar, wind, or biomass energy devices installed after December 31, 2006, if ownership of a device is transferred at the time installation is complete and the device is fully operational, the purchaser of the device is eligible for the tax credit under this section. Subsequent purchasers of the device are not eligible for the tax credit.

8.    An individual taxpayer filing a North Dakota return pursuant to the provisions of this chapter may claim a credit against the tax liability under section 57-38-30.3 for the cost of a geothermal energy device installed after December 31, 2008, and before January 1, 2015, in a building or on property owned or leased by the taxpayer in North Dakota. The credit must be in an amount equal to three percent per year for five years of the actual cost of acquisition and installation of the geothermal energy device.