Project Finance NewsWire

December 2013

IN THIS ISSUE

Doubts About State-Mandated Power Contracts

Two recent federal district court decisions, one in Maryland and one in New Jersey, found that state programs directing local utilities to sign long-term contracts with independent power producers were uncon...

Yield Cos Compared

Use of the phrase “yield co” to describe three recent share flotations by NRG Yield, TransAlta Renewables and Pattern Energy Group, Inc. masks very different business arrangements...

US Tax Changes Start to Take Shape

Accelerated depreciation would be eliminated under a draft tax bill the Senate Finance Committee released in November. The bill is one of three drafts that Senator Max Baucus (D...

Ethanol Loses Steam, But Only in Part

A proposal by the US Environmental Protection Agency in November to reduce the amount of renewable fuels that must be blended into US transportation fuels in 2014 is a blow to corn ethanol produce...

Energy Storage On The Cusp

The storage industry is progressing, slowly but surely. In the United States, policy initiatives are beginning to shape the market...

Environmental update

New standards have been released for phase I environmental site assessments that must be done on project sites as a condition to closing on financing...


IN OTHER NEWS

Utility Rebates

Utility rebates to customers to induce them to install rooftop solar can be deducted when paid by the utilities, the IRS ruled privately, and are not advance payments for renewable energy credits,...

Tax Equity

Tax equity investors may find low-income housing deals more attractive than renewable energy after a decision by an emerging issues task force of the Financial Accounting Standards Board in Novemb...

Liabilities Assumed by a Purchaser

Liabilities assumed by the purchaser of three nuclear power plants to decommission the plants cannot be added to the cost basis in the plants, a US appeals court confirmed...

Arizona

Arizona settled only half the issues in a dispute between solar rooftop companies and Arizona Public Service, and then only temporarily.

Investment Tax Credits

Investment tax credits were awarded to two advanced coal projects in October. The credits are 30% of the eligible project cost...

California

California is working on a ruling to address when out-of-state members in limited liability companies doing business in California must file state income tax returns.

The Mauritius-India

The Mauritius-India tax treaty is expected to be amended before April 2016 to make it harder for companies making inbound investments into India to take advantage of the treaty...

CFIUS

CFIUS has the last say — so far...

Economic substance

Economic substance was at issue in another case, only this time the taxpayer won.

REIT Conversions

REIT conversions may move forward again after the IRS sent an email in November to say that it will resume ruling on what qualifies as “real property” for REIT purposes...

Biodiesel blenders

Biodiesel blenders do not have to report refunds of excess excise tax credits as income, the IRS concluded in an internal memo in October.

SWAPS

SWAPS can trigger income when a counterparty assigns his position to someone else...

Minor memos

There were 43 utility-scale solar projects in operation in the United States at the end of the second quarter 2013...