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Drive to Reduce the Cost of Capital
Renewable energy companies and the Obama administration are looking for ways to reduce the cost of capital for renewable energy projects in the United States...
Project Finance NewsWire
April 2013
IN THIS ISSUE
Saudi Arabian Renewable Energy Program: Ready, Set
Saudi Arabia is expected to issue procurements for 41,000 megawatts of solar power projects worth more than $60 billion, plus another 13,000 megawatts of wind, geothermal and waste-to-energy plant...
Iran Sanctions Enforcement Not Keeping Pace With Rhetoric
A critical look at the US record of enforcement of sanctions against Iran reveals that prosecutions and penalties are not keeping pace with legislation and diplomatic developments ...
Synthetic Power Contracts
Renewable energy projects traditionally attract financing only after securing a long-term contract to sell the electricity to a creditworthy offtaker at a relatively fixed price...
China Sets New Energy Goals
Reaction to the new five-year energy plan that China released in late January has been mixed. Private and foreign investors are happy with the plan because it opens new doors for investment ...
The US Distributed Solar Market
A group of solar rooftop industry executives had a wide-ranging discussion at the PV America convention in Philadelphia in February about the basic business models in use in the US market, custome...
Keys To Getting California Power Contracts Approved
Policy concerns beyond the traditional focus on project need and project economics appear to have had strong influence on recent procurement decisions by the California Public Utilities Commission...
The State of Project Financing in the Near East
Financing projects in the Near East remains challenging. The commercial banks have largely disappeared. However, Saudi and other regional banks are active and are offering attractive terms...
Tips For Construction Contractors to Avoid Costly Missteps
Experience dealing with contentious construction-related matters has taught that inconsistent modes of communication, incomplete documentation and major assumptions with respect to the chain of au...
Environmental update
Two state-level climate change cap-and-trade programs in the United States appear to be finding solid footing...
IN OTHER NEWS
India
India is asserting the right to tax multinational corporations that make capital contributions in exchange for shares in Indian subsidiaries to the extent the shares are worth more when issued...
Partnerships
Partnerships may be subject to new tax rules in the future.
The section 1603 program
The section 1603 program remains an area with lots of activity.
No Costs Were “Incurred”
No costs were “incurred” under a construction contract for a large power plant until the plant reached substantial completion, the Internal Revenue Service ruled...
Batteries
Batteries installed as part of rooftop solar systems qualify for a 30% investment tax credit, but the tax credit is subject to a “75% cliff,” the IRS said...
Indian Tribes
Indian tribes can transfer federal tax benefits on projects the tribes own...
Pension Funds
Pension funds outside the United States may get relief from US taxes. The United States does not usually tax foreigners on gains from passive investments in US shares, bonds or other assets...
Production tax credits
Production tax credits for US power plants that generate electricity from wind, geothermal fluid or steam or “closed-loop” biomass will be 2.3¢ a kilowatt hour during 2013.
Property Taxes
Property taxes paid to a US state or local government are usually deductible for federal income tax purposes, but not in every case...
New Swap Rules
New swap rules that took effect on April 1 threaten to make some guarantees and security packages in loan transactions unenforceable, according to Andrew Coronios and Monika Szymanski in the Chadb...
North American Development Bank
North American development bank loans are not “subsidized energy financing,” the IRS said...
Tax Equity Transactions
Tax equity transactions are facing tougher vetting by the IRS...
A transaction lacked economic substance
A transaction lacked economic substance, the US Tax Court said.
Partner Guarantees
Partner guarantees may face greater scrutiny...
Taxes and Options to Purchase Partnership Interests
Options to purchase partnership interests may have tax consequences, the IRS said. The agency explained the tax consequences of “noncompensatory” options in final regulations in February...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act applies to three Hungarian executives of Magyar Telekom PLC, a federal district court judge in New York ruled in February...
Initial Property Tax Assessments
Initial property tax assessments can be capped for wind farms at 33% of installed costs and for solar projects at 12.5% of installed costs, the Tennessee state attorney general said...
Minor memos
The IRS is asserting more frequently on audit that US companies should receive fees from foreign affiliates for whom they guarantee repayment of debts or performance of contracts...
