An amendment numbered 28 printed in House Report 109-49 to reduce by 50% any royalty payments, excluding the costs of processing the rights-of-way, for wind energy generation that otherwise would be paid to the Treasury on BLM lands. This royalty relief provision terminagtes after 10 years of enactment or after the Secretary declares there exists a generation capacity of at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity from renewable sources on public lands, whichever is sooner.

1. Adds SEC. __. LIMITATION ON RENT AND OTHER CHARGES WITH RESPECT TO WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ON PUBLIC LANDS at the end of title XXVI

   Adds a section

   Inserted: SEC. __. LIMITATION ON RENT AND OTHER CHARGES WITH RESPECT TO WIND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS ON PUBLIC LANDS.

   Inserted: (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior may not impose rent and other charges, excluding for the cost of processing rights-of-way, with respect to any wind energy development project on public lands that, in the aggregate, exceed 50 percent of the maximum amount of rent that could be charged with respect to that project under the terms of Bureau of Land Management Instruction Memorandum No. 2003-020, dated October 16, 2002.

   Inserted: (b) Termination.--Subsection (a) shall not apply after the earlier of--

   Inserted: (1) the date on which the Secretary of the Interior determines there exists at least 10,000 megawatts of electricity generating capacity from non-hydropower renewable energy resources on public lands; or

   Inserted: (2) the end of the 10-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act.

   Inserted: (c) State Share not Affected.--This section shall not affect any State share of rent and other charges with respect to any wind energy development project on public lands.

   Original wording

   At the end of title XXVI add the following:

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As printed