15-6-162. Class seventeen property -- description -- taxable percentage. (1) Class seventeen property includes the land, improvements, furniture, fixtures, equipment, tools that are not exempt under 15-6-219, and supplies except those included in class five under 15-6-135 of a qualified data center.

(2) (a) "Qualified data center" means the land, improvements, and personal property of a facility designed or modified to house networked computers or equipment supporting computing, networking, or data storage that is composed of one or more buildings under single ownership, provided that a single ownership entity includes a wholly owned subsidiary or a parent company with 100% ownership interest, on contiguous parcels of land that consist of at least:

(i) 300,000 square feet, where the total cost of land, improvements, personal property, and software is at least $150 million with construction commencing after June 30, 2017; or

(ii) 25,000 square feet of new or expanded area, where the total cost of land, improvements, personal property, and software is at least $50 million invested during a 48-month period with construction commencing after January 1, 2019.

(b) The term includes but is not limited to:

(i) cooling systems, cooling towers, and other temperature infrastructure;

(ii) power infrastructure for transformation, distribution, or management of electricity used for the maintenance and operation of the facility, including:

(A) exterior dedicated business-owned substations;

(B) backup power generation systems, battery systems, and related infrastructure; and

(C) electrical generation and storage systems that commence operation after May 13, 2025, and are located on the facility side of the utility meter and primarily used by a qualified data center for onsite power; or

(iii) any other equipment necessary for the maintenance and operation of the facility.

(3) During construction, property not meeting the requirements of subsection (2) must be classified as class seventeen property if, prior to March 1 of the first tax year for which the classification will be applied, the taxpayer certifies to the department that the facility under construction will meet the requirements of subsection (2) within 2 years of the date of the certification.

(4) Except as provided in subsection (5), the taxable property of a qualified data center must be locally assessed.

(5) (a) Class seventeen property includes centrally assessed interstate or intrastate dedicated communications infrastructure that is owned or leased by the owner of a qualified data center and is composed of telecommunication or data lines, equipment, and services, including but not limited to copper or fiber optic lines or microwave, satellite, or other wireless communication systems.

(b) To qualify under this subsection (5), construction of the owned or leased interstate or intrastate communications infrastructure must commence after June 30, 2017, and before July 1, 2037, and must satisfy the criteria of this section.

(c) Dedicated communications infrastructure provided for in this subsection (5) is taxed at the rate provided for in subsection (8) for a period of 10 years from the time that construction commences. After the 10-year period, the dedicated communications infrastructure is taxed as class thirteen property at the rate provided in 15-6-156.

(d) Electrical generation systems provided for in subsection (2)(b)(ii)(C) are taxed at the rate provided for in subsection (8) for a period of 10 years from the time that construction commences. After the 10-year period, the electrical generation systems are taxed as class thirteen property at the rate provided in 15-6-156.

(6) (a) Except as provided in subsection (6)(b), electrical generation and storage systems are considered primarily used onsite if used at least 80% for onsite consumption as measured on an annualized kilowatt hour basis as certified annually to the department. Utility grade metering must be installed at the point of electrical generation to measure total kilowatt hours produced.

(b) If the governor declares an electrical generation emergency, the 80% requirement in subsection (6)(a) does not apply to a qualified data center that relies on backup power generation systems and makes electricity generated on the facility side of the utility meter available to the utility to help service residential and business customers during the emergency period.

(7) Class seventeen property included in an urban renewal area or targeted economic development district is subject to the elementary, high school, and state equalization mills levied pursuant to 20-9-331, 20-9-333, and 20-9-360.

(8) Property identified as class seventeen property under this section, whether centrally or locally assessed, is taxed at 0.9% of its market value.