production tax credit (PTC) Archives

production tax credit (PTC)

Key Takeaways | Clean Hydrogen Producers Get a Big Boost from the Inflation Reduction Act

by Heather Cooper, Christopher Gladbach and Allison Perlman | Oct 21, 2022 | Project Development and Finance, Renewables, Tax

Green hydrogen is a developing industry in the United States. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), which includes $369 billion in energy and climate spending, even introduces a clean hydrogen production tax credit (PTC) and broadens the existing investment tax credit (ITC) to apply to hydrogen projects.

During the latest webinar in our Navigating the New Energy Landscape series, Partners Heather Cooper and Christopher Gladbach were joined by Ivana Jemelkova from FTI Consulting, Ulrich Reinhard from Air Liquide and Tommy Gerrity from Ørsted for a discussion on the future of green hydrogen development following the passage of the IRA.

Below are key takeaways from the discussion:

1. The IRA introduces a new PTC for hydrogen produced after 2022 for a 10-year period from the date the project in question is placed in service. The credit is calculated as a percentage of $0.60/kg based on the resulting lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions rate and may be multiplied by five for the satisfaction of the wage and apprenticeship rules (as slightly modified compared to the standard tax credit-related wage and apprenticeship rules). To qualify for this PTC, hydrogen must be produced in the United States in the ordinary course of a trade or business for sale or use, and the production must be verified by an unrelated person.

2. The IRA also introduces a new ITC equal to the energy percentage of the cost basis of each specified clean hydrogen production facility placed in service during a taxable year based on the resulting lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions rate. The credit may also be multiplied by five for the satisfaction of the wage and apprenticeship rules and is eligible to credit adders for the domestic content and energy communities’ bonuses. To be eligible for this ITC, construction of the specified clean hydrogen production facility in question must begin before 2025.

3. Although the tax incentives related to hydrogen are new, the hydrogen industry has been around for over a century. Yet, it is not until recently that hydrogen production technologies have been seen as a clean energy solution. As such, there has been a visible uptick in the delivery of hydrogen through (1) renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar (referred to as green hydrogen), and (2) other energy sources, such as natural gas, supported by carbon capture and storage technology (referred to as blue hydrogen). This trend will be even further bolstered by the IRA, which strives to minimize the carbon impact over the production lifecycle of hydrogen from various energy sources and technologies.

4. With the United States being the second largest consumer in the world, industry experts believe there will be no shortage of demand for hydrogen and hydrogen-related technologies in the near future, especially in light of the enactment of the IRA. Yet, despite the growing opportunities related to hydrogen (g., its use to [...]

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Key Takeaways | Technology-Neutral Tax Credits: When Will ITC and PTC Disappear?

by Heather Cooper and Joel A. Hugenberger | Oct 7, 2022 | Natural Gas, Project Development and Finance, Renewables, Tax

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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Senate Passes Tax Extenders Deal That Includes Extension of Renewable Energy Incentives

by Heather Cooper and Philip Tingle | Dec 19, 2019 | Project Development and Finance, Renewables, Tax, U.S. Congress

The US Senate today passed a package of tax extenders as part of the year-end appropriations act that the US House of Representatives passed on December 17, 2019. President Trump is expected to sign the legislation before the end of the day tomorrow to avoid a government shutdown. The package includes a one-year extension of the production tax credit (PTC) under section 45 for wind and other technologies. It also includes limited extension of other energy tax incentives that were set to expire and a retroactive extension for some credits that had already expired in 2018. Most of the credits will now expire at the end of 2020, setting up the prospect of a broader tax extenders deal during lame duck session after the 2020 election. The bill also included a one-year extension through 2020 of the new markets tax credit under Section 45D at $5 billion.

Extension of Energy Tax Credits

Many energy tax credits and incentives are scheduled to expire or begin to phase out at the end of 2019 or have already expired. The Further Consolidated Appropriations Act will extend the expiration date to the end of 2020 for many credits. The package did not include an extension or expansion of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), disappointing the solar industry. The extenders package also did not include the proposed expansion of the ITC for energy storage technology or the extension of energy credits for offshore wind facilities.

Production Tax Credit

The PTC provides a credit for each kilowatt hour of energy production for qualified renewable energy facilities. The PTC expired for non-wind technologies at the end of 2017, while a reduced credit of 40% was available for wind facilities through the end of 2019, expiring for years 2020 and beyond. As we reported previously in House Passes PTC, NMTC Extension, under the tax extenders package, projects that begin construction in year 2019 are eligible for the 40% credit, and projects that begin construction in 2020 will be eligible for a 60% credit. This potentially leaves taxpayers in a frustrating position to the extent they already took steps to begin construction on a wind project in 2019 to take advantage of the 40% credit in anticipation of its expiration at the end of 2019. Taxpayers seeking the increased 60% PTC for wind projects will need careful planning to ensure any work done in 2019 does not attach to the 2020 project, thus dropping the credit to 40%.

Additionally, the full PTC would be retroactively revived and extended through 2020 for:

Closed loop biomass
Open loop biomass
Geothermal plants
Landfill gas (municipal solid waste)
Trash (municipal solid waste)
Qualified hydropower
Marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities

Under current law, those technologies are generally only eligible for the PTC to the extent construction began before 2018 (other than certain closed-loop biomass and qualified hydropower technologies, which must be placed in service before 2018). Under the extenders package, those dates would all be extended out to the end [...]

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House Passes PTC, NMTC Extension Bill

by Heather Cooper and Philip Tingle | Dec 18, 2019 | Project Development and Finance, Renewables, Tax

On December 17, 2019, the US House of Representatives passed a year-end fiscal year 2020 spending bill for the federal government that includes a one-year extension of the production tax credit under Section 45 (PTC) for wind and other technologies. The bill would extend the wind PTC for facilities the construction of which begins during 2020 at a rate of 60%. Under current law, the PTC is available at a rate of 100% for wind projects construction of which began before 2017, and the PTC phases down to 80% for projects that began construction during 2017, to 60% for projects that began construction during 2018, and 40% for projects that began construction during 2019. Curiously, the extender bill would leave in place the 40% rate for projects that began construction during 2019 and increase the rate back to 60% for projects that begin construction in 2020. If enacted in this form, this could potentially leave taxpayers in a frustrating position to the extent they already took steps to begin construction on a wind project in 2019 in order to secure PTC-eligibility at the 40% rate in anticipation of the credit’s scheduled expiration next year. The bill would mirror this 60-40-60 pattern for wind projects that elect to take the investment tax credit under Section 48 (ITC) in lieu of the PTC. Under the bill, the wind PTC would expire where construction begins in 2021 or later.

The bill would also retroactively extend the PTC through 2020 for closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, trash facilities, qualified hydropower, and marine and hydrokinetic renewable energy facilities. Under current law, those technologies are generally only eligible for the PTC to the extent construction began before 2018 (other than certain closed-loop biomass and qualified hydropower technologies, which must be placed in service before 2018).

The bill also includes a one-year extension through 2020 of the new markets tax credit under Section 45D at $5 billion.

As anticipated by the renewables industry, the bill did not include an extension of the ITC, which, in the case of solar, fiber-optic solar, qualified fuel cell, and qualified small wind energy technologies, is set to begin phasing down next year from 30% to 26%.

The tax extenders were included in an amendment to the spending bill, entitled The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Tax Relief Act of 2019.

The bill needs to be approved by the Senate and signed into law by the president by Friday, December 20 to avoid a government shutdown. It is unclear if the bill will receive similar support in the Senate. We will be following developments as they unfold in the coming days.

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

by McDermott Will & Emery, Bradford E. LaBonte, Heather Cooper and Philip Tingle | Dec 21, 2016 | Environmental, Power Markets, Renewables, Tax

On December 15, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2017-04, which provides welcome guidance on how to meet the “beginning of construction” requirements for wind and other qualified facilities. There has been much uncertainty about when construction of these types of facilities begins for renewable energy tax credit purposes. The Notice (1) extends the “Continuity Safe Harbor” placed in service date for projects that started construction before 2014; (2) provides that the “combination of methods” rule set forth in prior guidance only applies to facilities on which construction begins after June 6, 2016; and (3) clarifies that for purposes of the 80/20 Rule, the cost of new property includes all costs properly included in the depreciable basis of the new property.

Read the full article here.