Wind energy growth could stall under tax cut proposals - Entrepreneur Generations

The clean energy industry is booming across the U.S., with 86 percent of the nation's wind capacity in Republican Congressional districts in 2016, and much of the job growth happening in rural areas. In Texas, wind energy capacity outpaced coal in October, and five states (Kansas, Iowa, Oklahoma, and the Dakotas) get more than 20 percent of their energy from wind. But the industry could face future challenges, depending on what the final tax reform bill looks like. Both the House and Senate versions passed, but must now be reconciled.

CBS MoneyWatch map; click on the image to enlarge it.

The Senate bill preserves the tax credits that have spurred huge growth in renewable energy, but it also contains a provision that would subject tax credits given to companies with overseas operations to a 100 percent tax. That could cripple the clean energy industry, because a critical source of investment comes from multinational corporations that invest in tax equity for solar and wind farms. "If they have to pay a minimum tax, they may no longer have any need for the credits acquired through tax-equity deals," Brian Eckhouse reports for Bloomberg.

"In lay terms, the Senate bill would treat the investment tax credits provided to the wind and solar industries as income. Right now, projects are eligible to receive 30 percent tax credits — incentives that have led to the development of $50 billion in renewable energy facilities, say advocates, and something that could come to a screeching halt if the bankers and financiers that are backing them stop doing so," Ken Silverstein writes for Forbes.
 
The House bill would retroactively change the rules that dictate how wind developers qualify for production and investment tax credits, meaning that developers depending on the credits would have to eat the costs or abandon the project. "The estimated national job loss in wind-related construction and manufacturing is estimated at about 60,000 if the proposals are adopted," John Austin reports for CNHI News Service.

from The Rural Blog http://ift.tt/2BKw17e Wind energy growth could stall under tax cut proposals - Entrepreneur Generations

Posted by Entrepreneur Generations

Tweet