Proposed changes to federal financing for renewable projects

The U.S. Treasury Department’s successful cash grant program will expire Dec. 31, 2010. Section 1603 in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 established the new grant program that allows a renewable project owner to choose a one-time grant equal to 30% of the construction and installation costs for the facility. The facility must be placed in service by the end of this year or construction must have begun in 2009 or started this year and be completed by end of 2013.

Phil Spector, tax partner with Troutman Sanders in the New York office, thinks that the reason behind this an effort to reduce the administrative staff needed to support the program. If the grant program becomes a refundable tax credit, the onus is on the taxpayer who files for the tax credit to conduct the due diligence required to determine if qualifications are met.

See the full article at SNL Interactive…