U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) recently sent a letter to Janet Yellen, U.S. Department of the Treasury secretary, and Jennifer Granholm, U.S. Department of Energy secretary, urging the departments to clarify guidance for clean energy bonus tax credit.
The tax credit encourages clean energy deployment and manufacturing in areas whose economies and jobs are or were dependent on the coal, oil, or natural gas energy sectors.
“Congress intended the energy communities bonus credit for the clean energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC) to give private clean energy developers an incentive to locate their new clean energy investments in energy communities and at former fossil fuel energy sites,” Casey said. “So called ‘brownfield sites’ that were formerly dedicated to fossil fuel production or power generation and which may require remediation are ideal sites for new renewable energy projects, such as wind, solar, and battery storage, because of their pre-existing connections to the power grid and existing workforce and infrastructure. However, I am concerned that the guidance Treasury is adopting will result in some former natural gas plants sites not qualifying for the energy communities bonus as intended.”
Clarification would allow the bonus tax credit to be allocated according to the bill’s original intent. Casey said.