Section 1603 Cash Grants for Renewable Energy Projects TeleBriefing
With the end of 2011 drawing near, many renewable energy developers are seeking to qualify their projects for the Section 1603 cash grant. Developers continue to try to understand the complexities surrounding the grant requirements, especially the determination of when projects are considered to have met the “beginning construction” requirement.
On August 24, I'll moderate a Law Seminars International (LSI) Telebriefing on Section 1603, featuring Stoel Rives partner Greg Jenner and Victoria McDowell, the Compliance Program Manager, Section 1603 Program, U.S. Department of the Treasury.
The TeleBriefing will take place from 10 AM – 11 AM Pacific Time/ 1 PM -- 2 PM Eastern Time. During the briefing, attendees will learn how to meet the “beginning construction” test and receive clarification from the Treasury Department on project requirements. We'll also discuss the fate of projects that fail to qualify for the cash grant.
Registration is available online through Law Seminars International.
Treasury Department Issues Additional Guidance Regarding Cash Grant Begin Construction Requirement
The U.S. Treasury Department today released on its website additional guidance regarding the "begin construction" requirement for qualifying for the 30% ARRA cash grant. To qualify for the grant, a project either must be placed in service in 2009 or 2010 or, if construction begins on or before December 31, 2010, must be placed in service by a specified credit termination date (December 31, 2012 for large wind projects; December 31, 2013 for biomass, certain geothermal and other projects; and December 31, 2016 for solar and other projects). For the Stoel Rives Energy Tax Alert on the topic, click here.
Proposed Legislation to Limit ITC Grants for Renewable Projects
Proposed legislation in the Senate would greatly limit the effectiveness of the grant in lieu of tax credits for renewable energy projects under section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The section 1603 grant currently applies to renewable energy projects, such as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass, that are placed in service before 2011 or for which construction begins in 2009 or 2010 (and that are placed in service by certain dates). In its current form, if a project qualifies for the grant, the Treasury Department is required to pay the grant.
Expressing concern that a significant portion of the grants paid so far have gone to non-U.S. companies, Senator Charles Schumer (NY) and three other Democratic senators have sponsored a bill that would make payment of the grant subject to the discretion of the Treasury Department. It also would make the grant subject to the Buy American requirements of the stimulus bill, and would require that Treasury conduct an analysis of the "domestic job preservation and creation provided by" a project for which a grant application is submitted.
Various trade associations involved in renewable energy (such as AWEA, GEA and SEIA) are taking immediate action to register their opposition. Their focus will be on the incorrect assumptions underlying the proposal (for example, that it does not create U.S. jobs) and that, if enacted, it likely would destroy the effectiveness of the program.
We encourage our readers to register their strong opposition with their members of Congress and with the trade associations with which they are associated. The more opposition that is registered, and the longer the proposal drags out, the less likely it is to be enacted.
Read the March 4, 2010 Stoel Rives Law Alert on this proposed legislation.
