Business Energy Tax Credit

Source: DSIRE 10/16/2008

Incentive Type: Corporate Tax Credit
Eligible Renewable/Other Technologies: Solar Water Heat, Solar Space Heat, Solar Thermal Electric, Solar Thermal Process Heat, Photovoltaics, Wind, Biomass, Geothermal Electric, Fuel Cells, Geothermal Heat Pumps, CHP/Cogeneration, Solar Hybrid Lighting, Direct Use Geothermal, Microturbines
Applicable Sectors: Commercial, Industrial, Utility
Amount: 30% for solar, fuel cells and small wind;
10% for geothermal, microturbines and CHP
Maximum Incentive: $1,500 per 0.5 kW for fuel cells; $200 per kW for microturbines; $4,000 maximum credit for small wind. No maximum specified for other technologies.
Eligible System Size: Small wind turbines: 100 kW or less
Fuel cells: 0.5 kW or greater
Microturbines: 2 MW or less
CHP: 50 MW or less
Equipment/Installation Requirements: Fuel cells, microturbines and CHP systems must meet specific energy-efficiency criteria

Summary:
The federal business energy tax credits available under 26 USC § 48 were expanded significantly by the Energy Improvement and Extension Act of 2008 (H.R. 1424), enacted in October 2008. The new law extended the duration -- by eight years -- of the existing credits for solar energy, fuel cells and microturbines; increased the credit amount for fuel cells; established new credits for small wind-energy systems, geothermal heat pumps, and combined heat and power (CHP) systems; extended eligibility for the credits to utilities; and allowed taxpayers to take the credit against the alternative minimum tax (AMT), subject to certain limitations.

Credits are available for eligible systems placed into service on or before December 31, 2016:*

* Solar. The credit is equal to 30% of expenditures, with no maximum credit limit stated. Eligible solar energy property includes equipment that uses solar energy to generate electricity, to heat or cool (or provide hot water for use in) a structure, or to provide solar process heat. (Passive solar systems and solar pool-heating systems are not eligible.) Hybrid solar lighting systems are those that use solar energy to illuminate the inside of a structure using fiber-optic distributed sunlight.

Click here for a four-page Q&A on the revised federal solar tax incentives, prepared by the Solar Energy Industries Association.

* Fuel Cells. The credit is equal to 30% of expenditures, with no maximum credit limit stated. The credit for fuel cells is capped at $1,500 per 0.5 kilowatt (kW) of capacity. Eligible property includes fuel cells with a minimum capacity of 0.5 kW that have an electricity-only generation efficiency of 30% or higher. (Note that the credit for property placed into service on or before October 3, 2008, is capped at $500 per 0.5 kW.)

* Small Wind Turbines. The credit is equal to 30% of expenditures, with a maximum credit of $4,000. Eligible small wind property includes wind turbines up to 100 kW in capacity. This credit applies to eligible property placed into service after October 3, 2008.

* Geothermal Systems. The credit is equal to 10% of expenditures, with no maximum credit limit stated. Eligible geothermal energy property includes geothermal heat pumps and equipment used to produce, distribute or use energy derived from a geothermal deposit. For electricity produced by geothermal power, equipment qualifies only up to, but not including, the electric transmission stage. For geothermal heat pumps, this credit applies to eligible property placed into service after October 3, 2008.

* Microturbines. The credit is equal to 10% of expenditures, with no maximum credit limit stated (explicitly). The credit for microturbines is capped at $200 per kW of capacity. Eligible property includes microturbines up to two megawatts (MW) in capacity that have an electricity-only generation efficiency of 26% or higher.

* Combined Heat and Power (CHP). The credit is equal to 10% of expenditures, with no maximum limit stated. Eligible CHP property generally includes systems up to 50 MW in capacity that exceed 60% energy efficiency, subject to certain limitations and reductions for large systems. The efficiency requirement does not apply to CHP systems that use biomass for at least 90% of the system's energy source, but the credit may be reduced for less-efficient systems. This credit applies to eligible property placed into service after October 3, 2008.

In general, the original use of the equipment must begin with the taxpayer, or the system must be constructed by the taxpayer. The equipment must also meet any performance and quality standards in effect at the time the equipment is acquired. The energy property must be operational in the year in which the credit is first taken.

If the project is financed in whole or in part by subsidized energy financing or by tax-exempt private activity bonds, the basis on which the credit is calculated must be reduced. (The formula is described in the tax credit instructions.) Subsidized energy financing means "financing provided under a federal, state, or local program, a principal purpose of which is to provide subsidized financing for projects designed to conserve or produce energy." Therefore, a business must reduce the basis for calculating the credit by the amount of any such incentives received. Businesses who receive other incentives are advised to consult with a tax professional regarding how to calculate this federal tax credit.

History
The federal Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) expanded the existing federal business energy tax credit for solar and geothermal energy property to include fuel cells, microturbines and hybrid solar lighting systems installed on or after January 1, 2006, and raised the credit for solar to 30%. Prior to the provisions of EPAct 2005, a 10% credit was available to businesses that invested in or purchased solar or geothermal energy property.

* Note that the credit for geothermal property, with the exception of geothermal heat pumps, has no stated expiration date. The credit for solar energy property reverts to 10% after December 31, 2016.

Contact:
Public Information - IRS
Internal Revenue Service
1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20224
Phone: (800) 829-1040
Web site: http://www.irs.gov