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Key Takeaways | Guidance on the Wage and Apprenticeship Provisions

by and | Dec 5, 2022 | , , ,

The Navigating the New Energy Landscape webinar series came back last week for a special bonus session that focused on the just-released Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidance on the wage and apprenticeship provisions included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).

During this webinar, McDermott Partners Heather Cooper and Philip Tingle walk through the new guidance, covering key issues and drilling down into the impact of the 60-day countdown clock for which developers have to implement these provisions or face the loss of critical tax benefits for their renewable energy projects.

Below are key takeaways from the discussion:

1. IRS Notice 2022-61 provides additional guidance on the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements included in the IRA, which apply to a broad range of energy tax credits. Projects that do not meet these requirements potentially face an 80% reduction to any applicable energy tax credits. However, due to the 60-day delay between the release of the guidance and when the rules take effect, projects that begin construction before January 30, 2023, will not be subject to the requirements.

2. Notice 2022-61 also provides clarification (largely by reference) to existing US Department of Labor (DOL) regulations and prior IRS guidance. For example, it clarified that the existing IRS framework for determining the beginning of construction will be preserved. Other developments include a contemporaneous recordkeeping requirement necessary to establish compliance with the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements, clarification on the good faith effort exception to the apprenticeship requirements, and a new DOL email address for questions regarding prevailing wage determinations.

3. Despite this guidance, many questions remain unanswered. While many key definitions and rules are clarified by reference to DOL rules, this has not eliminated uncertainty regarding their implementation. McDermott’s energy & project finance team is working closely with the Firm’s employment team to tap into their vast experience with the DOL.

4. These developments raise many new considerations for developers. Those that can start construction before January 30 may wish to determine how to meet the beginning of construction requirements promptly and effectively before the guidance takes effect. Those that cannot start construction before January 30 will need to consider how to manage potential risks that arise from the new rules. This could require additional transactional scrutiny when drafting and negotiating around compliance.

To access past webinars in the Navigating the New Energy Landscape series and to begin receiving Energy updates, including invitations to the webinar series, please click here.



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IRS Provides Relief on Begin Construction Continuity Requirements

by and | Jun 30, 2021 | , , ,

Yesterday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2021-41 (the Notice), providing relief for continuity requirements for the investment tax credit (ITC) under Section 48 and the production tax credit (PTC) under Section 45.

The applicable tax rate for the ITC and PTC is based on the year a project “begins construction.” Under existing IRS guidance, projects are treated as having begun construction by either satisfying the Physical Work Test or the Five Percent Safe Harbor. Both methods require a taxpayer to make continuous progress toward completion of the facility once construction has begun (Continuity Requirement). The IRS previously provided a Continuity Safe Harbor, whereby the Continuity Requirement will be deemed met if the project is placed in service within a certain number of years from beginning construction. For most projects, the Continuity Safe Harbor was previously four years and was extended to five years last year for projects that otherwise began construction in 2016 or 2017. Under the existing guidance, if the Continuity Safe Harbor is not met, a taxpayer can satisfy the Continuity Requirement by meeting the Continuous Construction Test (in the case of the Physical Work Test) or the Continuous Efforts Test (in the case of the Five Percent Safe Harbor). The Continuous Construction Test and Continuous Efforts Test are both demonstrated through facts and circumstances.

In the Notice, the IRS further extended the Continuity Safe Harbor to six years for projects that otherwise began construction in 2016 through 2019 and to five years for projects that otherwise began construction in 2020. In other words, the Continuity Safe Harbor will be satisfied if a taxpayer places the project in service by the end of a calendar year that is no more than five or six years (as applicable) after the calendar year during which construction of the project otherwise began.

The Notice further provides that for a project that does not satisfy the Continuity Safe Harbor, the taxpayer can satisfy either the Continuous Efforts Test or Continuous Construction Test (regardless of whether the taxpayer is relying on the Physical Work Test or the Five Percent Safe Harbor). Under previous guidance, a taxpayer relying on the Physical Work Test was all but certain to fail the Continuous Construction Test, which seems to require regular physical work from the time construction begins. The Continuous Efforts Test appears to encompass more activities than the Continuous Construction Test and may be easier to satisfy for some taxpayers.

The Notice clarifies that the relief was in response to the fact that “regional, national, or global circumstances due to the COVID-19 pandemic have continued to cause delays in the development of certain facilities eligible for the PTC and the ITC. These extraordinary delays have adversely affected the ability of many taxpayers to place facilities in service in time to meet the Continuity Safe Harbor.”

The Notice will be welcome relief to many taxpayers who have struggled with project delays in recent years.



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IRS Provides Relief for Offshore Wind and Federal Land Projects

by and | Jan 7, 2021 | , , , ,

New guidance from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) extends the Continuity Safe Harbor to 10 years for both offshore wind projects and projects on federal land. The relatively quick release of this guidance following enactment of the offshore wind investment tax credit (ITC) last week suggests strong support for these projects by Congress, the US Department of the Treasury and IRS.

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COVID-19 Stimulus Bill Includes Key Renewable Energy Tax Credits

by and | Dec 28, 2020 | , , , ,

The US stimulus bill passed into law yesterday includes several key extensions and additions to the tax credits available for renewable energy. The bill had been agreed to by Congress early last week and was signed into law by the president last night.

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Six Takeaways: Utilization and Structuring for Section 45Q Carbon Capture Credits

by , , and | Jun 12, 2020 | , , , ,

On Thursday, June 11, McDermott partners Phil Tingle, Heather Cooper and Jacob Hollinger were joined by Ken Ditzel, managing director at FTI Consulting, to discuss their insights into the proposed Section 45Q carbon capture and sequestration credit regulations.


The Treasury Department and IRS recently published proposed regulations implementing the Section 45Q carbon capture and sequestration credit. The regulations clarify some questions about the credit, though many questions remain. For further discussion, see our On The Subject.

Below are six key takeaways from this week’s webinar:

      1. Carbon capture projects are likely to be economically important moving forward. Ken Ditzel estimated there are more than 600 economically viable projects, including both secure geological storage at deep saline formations and enhanced oil recovery projects.
      2. The proposed regulations provide a compliance pathway for satisfying the reporting requirements. For long-term storage, taxpayers should comply with Subpart RR of the Clean Air Act’s greenhouse gas reporting rule. For enhanced oil recovery projects, taxpayers may choose either Subpart RR or alternative standards developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
      3. Taxpayers can claim the credit if they utilize the captured carbon for a purpose for which a commercial market exists, instead of storing it. Additional guidance is needed to determine what commercial markets the IRS will recognize and how they will go about making those determinations.
      4. The proposed regulations offer considerable flexibility to contract with third parties to dispose the captured carbon and to pass the section 45Q credit to the disposing party. Contracts must meet certain procedural requirements, including commercially reasonable terms and not limiting damages to a specified amount.
      5. If the captured carbon dioxide leaks, the carbon capture tax credit is subject to recapture by the IRS. The taxpayer who claimed the credit bears the recapture liability, but IRS guidance permits indemnities and insurance for credit recapture.
      6. The partnership allocation revenue procedure issued in February 2020 provides flexibility for the section 45Q credit relative to other tax equity structures, by only requiring 50% non-contingent contributions by an investor member. This may make projects easier to finance, especially in light of the other contracting flexibility in the proposed regulations.

Download the key takeaways here.

To begin receiving Energy updates, including invitations to the Renewables Roundtable and Q&A Webinar Series, please click here.

To access past webinars, please click here.



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IRS Extends Deadline for ITC and PTC Projects

by and | May 28, 2020 | ,

The IRS yesterday released anticipated guidance extending the placed-in-service deadline for the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC). Under Notice 2020-41, the “Continuity Safe Harbor” was extended to five years for any project that otherwise began construction in 2016 or 2017.

As background, the applicable credit rate for the ITC and PTC turns on when a project begins construction. The IRS has issued a series of Notices providing guidance on when a project begins construction for these purposes. Under the guidance, taxpayers can either satisfy the “Five Percent Safe Harbor” or “Physical Work Test”. In addition to requiring certain activities in the year construction begins, both methods include a second prong, requiring certain continuous work until the project is placed in service. The IRS has previously provided the Continuity Safe Harbor, under which a project will be treated as having met the second prong so long as it is placed in service by the end of the fourth year after which construction begins on the project. If the project cannot meet the Continuity Safe Harbor, the taxpayer must satisfy the continuity requirement through facts and circumstances.

In the case of the Five Percent Safe Harbor (which requires continuous efforts), demonstrating facts and circumstances is time-intensive and challenging, and is inherently uncertain. In the case of the Physical Work Test (which requires continuous physical work), demonstrating facts and circumstances is likely impossible across four years, leaving many of these projects economically unviable in the absence of IRS relief.

The new Notice extends the Continuity Safe Harbor by one year – from four years to five years – for any projects that began construction in 2016 or 2017. This is welcomed relief for projects that have experienced delays related to COVID-19. The relief is particularly helpful in that it is a blanket extension for any projects that otherwise began construction in 2016 or 2017, without requiring taxpayers prove that delays were specifically related to COVID-19. If the extension were only available for COVID-19 delays, the relief would have had limited value, as taxpayers would have simply gone from trying to demonstrate facts and circumstances relating to continuous work, to having to demonstrate facts and circumstances relating to the nature of the delays. This blanket relief was particularly important, given the cascading impact of COVID-19 through the economy and the renewables industry – which experienced delays relating to supply chains, and also relating to financing and regulatory issues, among others. The extension of the safe harbor provides needed economic certainty for all of these projects.

Notice 2020-41 also provides relief for projects that intended to satisfy the Five Percent Safe Harbor in late 2019 but where equipment has been delayed. Under the existing guidance, costs are taken into account in 2019 under the Five Percent Safe Harbor if they are paid before December 31, 2019 and the property or services are delivered within 105 days of payment (the “105 Day Rule”).  Under the new guidance, if a taxpayer made payment on [...]

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IRS Releases Initial Section 45Q Carbon Sequestration Credit Guidance

by , and | Feb 21, 2020 | , , , ,

Treasury and the IRS released initial guidance on the amended Section 45Q carbon oxide sequestration credit on February 19, 2020. Notice 2020-12 and Revenue Procedure 2020-12 provide guidance relating to the beginning of construction and tax equity partnership allocations.

This is the first Section 45Q guidance since Treasury issued a request for comments in Notice 2019-32 last year. That Notice sought input on a number of issues raised by amendments to Section 45Q that expanded the scope and enhanced the amount of the Section 45Q credit pursuant to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, P.L. 115-123. The new guidance in Notice 2020-12 and Revenue Procedure 2020-12 is effective March 9, 2020.

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Initial Republican Tax Reform Proposal Includes Tax Cuts and Changes to Energy Credits

by , , and | Nov 3, 2017 | , , , , ,

Changes to the energy credits proposed in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could impact the eligibility of renewable energy projects that had been relying on the guidance previously issued by the Internal Revenue Service.

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IRS Rules (Again) That Taxpayers Are Not Entitled to Claimed Refined Coal Credits

by , and | Jul 28, 2017 | ,

In a highly-anticipated Technical Advice Memorandum (TAM) dated March 23, 2017 and released on July 21, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) ruled that two taxpayers who had invested in a Limited Liability Company that owned and operated a refined coal facility (the LLC) were not entitled to refined coal production credits they had claimed because their investment in the LLC was structured “solely to facilitate the prohibited purchase of refined coal tax credits.” This analysis marks a departure from the position staked out by the IRS in a number of recent refined coal credit cases, which focused on whether taxpayers claiming refined coal credits were partners in a partnership that owned and operated a refined coal facility.

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IRS Issues Additional Guidance on Beginning of Construction Rules for Renewable Projects

by , and | Mar 23, 2015 | ,

The Internal Revenue Service issued Notice 2015-25 on March 11, 2015, to provide further guidance on meeting the beginning of construction requirements for wind and other qualified facilities. The Notice extends the date by which a facility can meet the beginning of construction deadline to correspond with the extension of Code Section 45 passed by Congress at the end of 2014.

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