At the National Hydropower Association conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this week, Department of Energy ("DOE") Secretary Steven Chu and Department of the Interior ("DOI") Secretary Ken Salazar announced a $26.6 million grant program to advance the development, testing, validation, modeling, and interconnection of advanced conventional hydropower systems. The agencies’ news came at the same time that the
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Understanding “Beginning Construction” Under Section 1603
The Treasury Department recently issued a series of FAQs in an effort to clarify when projects will be treated as having “begun construction” for purposes of the section 1603 grant. As you may be aware, a project that otherwise qualifies for the grant but is not placed in service before the end of 2010 may still be eligible for the grant if construction on the project is begun in 2009 or 2010 and the project is eventually placed in service before the applicable “credit termination date.” The new FAQs address a number of the unanswered questions. However, the framework adopted by the Treasury Guidance and the new FAQs is complex, and there appears to be a considerable amount of confusion among developers about how the “beginning construction” requirement can be met. Therefore, we thought it important to issue this alert.
Continue Reading Understanding “Beginning Construction” Under Section 1603
USDA Issues Notice of Funding Available for Renewable Energy Feasibility Studies
From our colleague Sarah Johnson Phillips:
Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a Notice of Funding Available (NOFA) for up to $3,000,000 in renewable energy feasibility study grants under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).
- The grants are available to farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses for conducting feasibility studies for renewable
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Optimizing Tax Benefits in Financing Renewable Energy Projects
Federal tax benefits, such as the Section 1603 Grant, investment tax credits and production tax credits, continue to be an important driver in financing renewable energy projects. Several of my colleagues will be discussing these tax benefits and other incentives related to project financing in a webinar hosted by Infocast on Wednesday, March 31, 2010 at 1:00…
Treasury Creates Safe Harbor for Smart Grid Investment Grants
Yesterday, the Energy and Treasury Departments jointly issued guidance regarding the federal income tax treatment of Smart Grid Investment Grant payments received pursuant to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
The guidance, which was issued as Revenue Procedure 2010-20, generally provides that a corporation receiving a specified grant will not recognize taxable income upon…
Secretary Chu Announces $80M for Biofuels
DOE Secretary Chu’s announcement today regarding $80 million of ARRA funding for biofuels is potentially a positive development for the long-term development of the biofuels industry. What is worriesome from a practical perspective is the division of funding.
Continue Reading Secretary Chu Announces $80M for Biofuels
Upcoming Webinar: The Treasury Grant Program – Follow-up and Q&A
Join us for Structured Tax Incentives Part Deux! Our follow-up webinar will again include Vicky McDowell, Chief Administrator of the Treasury ITC Grant program. Unlike the first session, we will not use a formal presentation; instead, we will cover in greater detail the issues raised in your comments and will attempt to answer as many…
Show me the Money: Washington State Issues Final Guidance for Competitive Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $3.2 billion for energy efficiency and conservation block grants. Most of this money has been allocated directly to various local governments. Washington has an additional $6.4 million available through a competitive grant program.
Washington’s competitive grant program is administered through its Department of Commerce. Today, the Department of Commerce has announced…
No Preliminary Approval for ITC Grants
In recent days, there have been rumors circulating that Treasury would issue "pre-approvals" for ITC grants in cases where construction begins in 2009 or 2010 but the project is not placed in service before 2011. You will recall that projects may still qualify for the ITC grant in those cases if they meet the placed…
Show me the Money: Webinar Explaining the Wind Turbine Drivetrain FOA
About a month ago we issued an alert regarding a $45 million funding opportunity announcement ("FOA") for the development of a wind turbine drivetrain testing facility (alert available here).
Today, the Department of Energy ("DOE") announced that they are hosting a webinar regarding this FOA. The webinar will be held July 30, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. …