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Insights for the Global Energy Industry
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Insights for the Global Energy Industry
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Key Takeaways | Technology-Neutral Tax Credits: When Will ITC and PTC Disappear?

by and | Oct 7, 2022 | , , ,

During this webinar, McDermott Partners Heather Cooper and Joel Hugenberger hosted Jay Chang, managing director at CCA Group, for a discussion on how the new technology-neutral tax credit will work and how it may impact the industry moving forward.

Below are key takeaways from the discussion:

1. The newly introduced technology-neutral tax credits (for both the investment tax credit (ITC) and production tax credit (PTC) regimes) are unique in that they can be applied to any facility producing energy so long as the greenhouse gas emissions from said facility are net zero. At this time, emission classes have not yet been established by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), although carbon dioxide capture can be taken into account for calculating the emissions rate under the new technology-neutral tax credit regime. (More guidance surrounding this topic is expected before 2025.) However, it is expected that traditional renewables facilities (e., solar and wind) will be treated as having net zero emissions. Nonetheless, all technologies will have the option to select either ITCs or PTCs and not be restricted by their respective industry (as was previously the case).

2. Generally, the technology-neutral tax credits will follow the ITC and PTC mechanism; there will be 30% ITCs and 100% PTCs, each with potential adders or penalties against each, respectively. The technology-neutral tax credits will also be subject to identical wage and apprenticeship rules that apply to the current tax credits in connection with PTCs and ITCs.

3. Technology-neutral ITCs and PTCs are applicable to projects placed in service after 2024 (e., on or after January 1, 2025). The old ITC and PTC regimes are set to apply to projects that begin construction prior to or during the year 2024. For those projects that overlap between both periods, it is unclear as to which regime would apply. Taxpayers are still awaiting additional guidance from the IRS concerning this inquiry.

4. Technology-neutral PTCs are available to taxpayers without them having to provide evidence of a sale of output. Now, so long as the output is verified by a third-party meter reader, a taxpayer can take advantage of these new credits. Additionally, taxpayers can now claim these technology-neutral tax credits for new additions to existing facilities (which could be particularly beneficial for facilities that might be upsized post-2024.)

5. To note, assuming greenhouse gas emissions reach a target of 25% of the current 2022 rates, technology-neutral ITCs and PTCs will begin to be phased out starting in 2034. Projects beginning construction in 2034 will be entitled to 75% of tax credits. In the following year, projects will be entitled to 50% of tax credits, with projects being entitled to 0% of tax credits in 2036. However, if the proposed greenhouse gas emissions goal is not reached by 2034, this proposed timeline will be extended.

6. In the past, renewable technologies have had to quickly [...]

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Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration – An Industry Primed for Explosive Growth? A Summary of the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s Report

by , and | Jul 6, 2021 | , , , ,

On June 30, 2021, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) delivered a Carbon Capture, Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) report to Congress in accordance with the Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies (USE IT) Act passed in December 2020. The CEQ report highlights an inventory of existing permitting requirements for CCUS deployment and identifies best practices for advancing the efficient, orderly and responsible development of CCUS projects at an increased rate.

The Biden Administration is “committed to accelerating the responsible development and deployment of CCUS to make it a widely available, increasing cost-effective, and rapidly scalable climate solution across all industry sectors.” CEQ Chair Brenda Mallory recognized that in order “[t]o avoid the worst impacts of climate change and reach President Biden’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, we need to safely develop and deploy technologies that keep carbon pollution from entering the air and remove pollution from the air…The report … outlines a framework for how the U.S. can accelerate carbon capture technologies and projects in a way that benefits all communities.” Development of CCUS projects and related infrastructure will be encouraged and favorably looked upon by the Biden Administration as a demonstrable example of how it’s seeking to combat climate change.

CCUS – OPPORTUNITY OF THE FUTURE FOR MIDSTREAM COMPANIES?

CCUS refers to a set of technologies that remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the emissions of point sources or the atmosphere and permanently sequesters them. In addition to removing CO2, carbon capture technology has the potential to remove other types of pollution, such as sulfur oxides. According to leading scientists and experts, removal of CO2 from the air is essential to addressing the climate crisis and alleviating the most severe impacts of climate change. Beyond the impact carbon capture technology will have on the climate crisis, CCUS will continue to have a valuable role in the US economy as the technology continues to evolve.

The CEQ report makes it extremely clear that any effective nationwide rollout of CCUS is heavily dependent on a massive buildout of pipelines for CO2 transportation infrastructure. Currently, there are approximately 45 CCUS facilities in operation or in development and 5,200 miles of dedicated CO2 pipelines. The number of CCUS facilities and the breadth of dedicated CO2 pipelines will need to expand at a rapid rate if CCUS is to become an effective tool for meeting net-zero emission by 2050.

Establishing CCUS at scale is going to be heavily dependent on—and presents a great opportunity for—midstream pipeline developers. Despite the 5,200 miles of CO2 pipelines and the potential to employ “orphaned” pipeline networks previously used by the oil and gas industry once remediated, there is no current network of CO2 pipelines at a scale large enough for permanent carbon sequestration across all industrial sectors. Thus, to achieve climate goals set by the Biden Administration, a significant amount of CO2 pipelines will need to be developed. According to the CEQ report, expansion of CO2 pipeline infrastructure in “the near term is [...]

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Why 2030 is the New 2050 after the Leaders Climate Summit and What President Biden’s Accelerated Transition to a Sustainable Economy Means for Renewables Developers, Investors and Corporates

by , , , , and | Apr 28, 2021 | , , ,

2030 is the new 2050 as US President Joe Biden has officially set a new goal for fighting climate change over the next decade in the United States. At the Leaders Climate Summit (the Summit) on Earth Day, he announced that America would aim to cut its greenhouse gas emissions at least 50% below its 2005 levels by 2030. If successful, this transition would lead to a very different America and would affect virtually every corner of the nation’s economy, including the way Americans get to work, the sources from which we heat and cool our homes, the manner in which we operate our factories, the business models driving our corporations and the economic factors driving our banking and investment industries. The effectiveness of this transition lies in the administration’s ability to pull on two historically powerful levers: Tax policy and infrastructure funding. However, tax policy will call upon multiple sublevers, such as increased tax rates, expanded tax credits, refundability, carbon capture, offshore wind, storage, transmission and infrastructure investment. All of this will be bolstered by the American corporate sector’s insatiable appetite for environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) goal investment.

QUICK TAKEAWAYS

There were six key announcements at the Summit for renewables developers, investors and corporates to take note:

  1. The United States’ commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50% – 52% below its 2005 emissions levels by 2030
  2. The United States’ economy to reach net-zero emissions by no later than 2050
  3. The United States to double the annual climate-related financing it provides to developing countries by 2024
  4. The United States to spend $15 billion to install 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations along roads, parking lots and apartment buildings
  5. A national goal to cut the price of solar and battery cell prices in half
  6. A national goal to reduce the cost of hydrogen energy by 80%

President Biden’s goals are ambitious. It is clear from the history of renewable incentives in the United States as well as current developments that moving forward, the green agenda will predominately rely on two primary levers being pulled at the federal level: Tax policy and infrastructure funding. The federal tax levers mentioned above will not be pulled in a vacuum. Instead, they will be pulled in the midst of a tectonic shift among individual investors that now demand that institutional investors and corporations begin to create and meet ESG goals as individual customers are beginning to take a corporation’s climate goals and footprint into account when making purchasing decisions.

As a result, we discuss the following areas in greater detail below:

  1. Tax policy
    1. increased tax rates
    2. expanded tax credits
    3. refundability
    4. carbon capture
    5. offshore wind
    6. storage
    7. transmission
  2. Infrastructure bill
  3. ESG environment

DEEPER DIVE: BREAKING DOWN EACH LEVER AS WELL AS ITS OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

  1. Tax Policy: The consistent message from the Biden Administration, at the Summit and elsewhere, makes clear that tax policy will likely play a significant role in the administration’s ambitious climate agenda. At [...]

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