// INCENTIVE PROGRAMS

Advanced energy businesses locating within the Kansas City area are eligible for both local and state incentives. Select local governments offer incentive programs for locating green jobs in the region.

STATE INCENTIVES & INITIATIVES – ADVANCED ENERGY

// KANSAS

Wind and Solar Energy Bond Financing Program
The state of Kansas is allowed to issue up to $5 million in bond financing for eligible wind and solar energy manufactuers locating in Kansas. The bonds are paid off from the payroll withholding of the new jobs created. To qualify, a project must create at least 200 new jobs within five years, pay at least a $32,500 average salary and generate a minimum capital investment of $30 million.

Net metering
Legislation enacted in May 2009 established net metering for customers of investor-owned utilities in Kansas. The rules allow residential systems up to 25 kilowatts and non-residential systems up to 200 kilowatts to offset onsite electricity consumption.

Renewables Portfolio Standard
Legislation enacted in May 2009 established a renewables portfolio standard (RPS) for Kansas which requires the state's investor owned utilities and certain cooperative utilities to generate or purchase a certain amount of their electricity from eligible renewable resources. Kansas' standard is based on generation capacity (kilowatts).

The required generation capacity can be produced by wind, solar thermal, photovoltaics (PV), dedicated crops grown for energy production, cellulosic agricultural residues, plant residues, methane from landfills or wastewater treatment, clean and untreated wood products, existing hydropower that has a nameplate rating of 10 megawatts or less, fuel cells using hydrogen produced by an eligible renewable resource.

The compliance schedule sets the following minimums:

• 2011 - 2015: 10%
• 2016 - 2019: 15%
• 2020 onward: 20%.

// MISSOURI

Net metering
Legislation enacted in January 2008 requires all electric utilities--investor-owned utilities, municipal utilities and electric cooperatives -- to offer net metering to customers with systems up to 100 kilowatts in capacity that generate electricity using wind energy, solar-thermal energy, hydroelectric energy, photovoltaics, fuel cells using hydrogen produced by one of the aforementioned resources, and other sources of energy certified as renewable by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Systems must be intended primarily to offset part or all of a customer's own electricity requirements, and must be located on a premises owned, operated, leased or otherwise controlled by the customer.

Renewables Portfolio Standard
In November 2008, Missouri enacted a mandatory, renewable electricity standard of 15% by 2021 for investor-owned utilities. The standard also contains a solar electricity carve-out of 2% of each interim portfolio requirement meaning that by 2021, 0.3% of retail electricity sales must be derived from solar electricity.

The definition of eligible renewables includes electricity produced using solar photovoltaics; solar thermal; wind; small hydropower; biogas from landfills and wastewater treatment plans; various form of biomass; fuel cells using hydrogen from renewable resources; and other resources approved by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The standard sets the following minimum benchmarks for electric utilites on their annual electricity sales:

• 2% from 2011 to 2013 (0.04% solar)
• 5% from 2014 to 2017 (0.1% solar)
• 10% from 2018 to 2020 (0.2% solar)
• 15% for 2021 and thereafter (0.3% solar)
  

STATE INCENTIVES & INITIATIVES – OTHER PROGRAMS

// KANSAS

Investments in Major Projects and Comprehensive Training (IMPACT)
Investments in Major Projects and Comprehensive Training (IMPACT) provides companies with direct financial assistance based on the creation of net, new jobs and the payroll generated from those jobs. There are three components of the IMPACT program:

1. Major Project Investment: this money may be used for non-training related project purchases. These purchases can include construction costs, leasehold improvements, machinery, equipment, office materials, etc. MPI is typically received early in the project based on reimbursement of an approved qualified expenditure per the training contract. The company may also use up to 100% of these MPI funds for SKILL workforce training, as described below.

2. State of Kansas Investments in Lifelong Learning (SKILL) – SKILL is designed to meet a company’s training needs and can be structured as preemployment, classroom, on-the-job, or a combination of the three training approaches. SKILL can pay the negotiated costs for instructor’s salaries; cost of training course, meals, travel and lodging (including out of state travel for employees or instructors); video development; textbooks and training manuals; supplies and materials, temporary training facilities; and curriculum planning and development. In addition, up to 50% of the funds can be used to lease or purchasetraining equipment for local educational institutions.

3. Workforce Solution Fund (WFS) - by law, ten percent of the IMPACT award is set aside to help workforce-training institutions throughout the state effectively respond to training needs of business. These resources will be combined with the funds generated by other training projects in a trust fund designated for this sole purpose. Trust fund dollars are invested into projects designed to enhance the business training services and facilities of our post-secondary institutions for the benefit of all Kansas companies.

Workforce Development Assistance
A wide variety of services are available through the Kansas Workforce Centers located throughout the state. Services include but are not limited to: statewide and national job listings; applicant pre-screening and application acceptance; space to conduct interviews as well as staff to assist in scheduling; space for job fairs; applicant assessment services and testing; Veteran services; and current labor market information. These services are available to all Kansas employers at no cost and may be accessed through www.kansasjoblink.com or by contacting the local Kansas Workforce Center.

Sales Tax Exemption for Construction & Equipment
The Kansas state sales and use tax is 5.3% and cities and counties may collect additional sales tax. However, Kansas has sales tax exemption programs to reduce or eliminate this sales tax liability, available through the Kansas Enterprise Zone program.

Real and Personal Property Tax Abatement/Exemption – property tax savings on real and personal property
State law allows up to 100% property tax abatement for ten years on real property if industrial revenue bonds are utilized in the project or it qualifies under the state constitution. Tax abatement for the real property is a local decision. For personal property, Kansas law exempts the property tax on commercial and industrial machinery, technology and equipment purchased or transferred into Kansas after June 30, 2006.

Kansas Corporate Income Tax Credit
Reduces or eliminates a company’s Kansas income tax liability

Industrial Revenue Bonds
Financial assistance for construction, remodel, equipment and machinery

Promoting Employment Across Kansas (PEAK) Act
Offers qualified companies that are relocating operations to Kansas the ability to retain 95 percent of their payroll withholding for a period of 5-7 years. Companies need to create at least 10 new jobs within two years in metropolitan areas or five new jobs within two years in all other counties of the state. High-impact projects that create 100 new jobs within five years can retain 95 percent of payroll withholding for 7-10 years. The number of years that withholding can be retained depends on the amount by which the annual average wage of the employees at the new Kansas worksite exceeds the county average wage.

Investments in Major Projects and Comprehensive Training
Offers the state increased flexibility with workforce training funding, as qualified projects can now utilize a component of this program to assist in paying up to six months of trainees' wages during training.

// MISSOURI

Missouri Quality Jobs
This program provides significant state incentives for certain eligible projects. The incentives are refundable/sellable state tax credits based on a formula of the payroll of the new jobs created. The combined benefit of this program and New Jobs Training may not exceed the state impact of the project.

Employee Recruitment and Referral
The Division of Workforce Development’s network of local Business Representatives is available to assist your personnel department with recruiting and hiring needs at no cost to your business. Through the Missouri Career Centers, your Business Representative provides access to professional staff that will assist with advertising job openings on www.MissouriCareerSource.com, pre-screening of applicants based on your criteria and assessing applicants on their skills and abilities with aptitude tests in several areas including math and reading.

Missouri BUILD Program
This program provides a financial incentive for the location or expansion of large business projects. The incentives are designed to reduce necessary infrastructure and equipment expenses if a project can demonstrate a need for funding.

Energy Exemption
As of August 28, 2007, the State of Missouri allows manufacturers an exemption on energy purchases. These items may be exempted from state tax (4.225%) and local use tax, but not local sales tax. The Department of Revenue oversees the actual exemptions.

Sales/Use Tax Exemption
Machinery and equipment used to establish a new, or expand an existing manufacturing facility is tax-exempt, provided such machinery/equipment is used directly to manufacture a product ultimately intended for sale.