IN THIS ISSUE

Cost of Capital: 2014 Outlook

A group of industry veterans talked in late January about the current cost of capital in the tax equity, bank debt, term loan B and project bond markets and what they foresee in 2014...

Changes Ahead For California Residential Solar

Two looming regulatory developments in California will have a significant effect on the residential solar market...

Tax Equity Market Weighs New IRS Guidelines

New guidelines that the Internal Revenue Service issued for tax equity transactions in late December apply only to transactions involving tax credits for rehabilitating buildings, but they are hav...

A Lifeline For Cellulosic Ethanol Projects in California?

A low carbon fuel standard in California should create opportunities for cellulosic ethanol producers, even as the federal government moves to reduce the amount of renewable fuels that must be use...

The Outlook For Electricity Demand

James Turnure, director of the office of energy consumption and efficiency analysis in the US Energy Information Administration, spoke to Keith Martin of Chadbourne at the Infocast projects & ...

Is the Power Industry Business Model at a Tipping Point?

The Edison Electric Institute released a report last year warning that regulated utilities are facing a serious long-term threat from distributed generation and demand-side management programs...

Opportunities: Renewable Energy Projects Near Mines

Renewable energy developers are set to strike gold in the next decade with inside-the-fence facilities at mines...

Opportunities: Southern California Power Needs

California faces serious challenges maintaining reliable electric service to more than six million people who live in the area from San Diego to Los Angeles after Southern California Edison decide...

Kuwait: The BOT Market Reopens

Global interest in undertaking development projects in Kuwait has never been greater...

Evaluating European Infrastructure Bonds

Infrastructure bonds are expected to be a growth market in 2014. This past year was a significant year for the emerging European market in such bonds...

Adjustments Needed in Some Partnership Terms

New partnership regulations issued by the Internal Revenue Service in January may require changes in some arrangements used by partnerships...

Mexico Opens its Energy Markets

The Mexican Congress has until the end of April to pass implementing legislation after amending the Constitution on December 20 to allow sweeping changes in the oil and gas and power sectors...

Environmental update

Regulation of air emissions from power plants is in a state of flux in 2014, with particular uncertainty as to how regulators can and will tackle cross-state air pollution and the degree to which new and...

IN OTHER NEWS

Renewables Companies Grapple with Construction-Start Issues

Start of construction issues will take time to sort out The Internal Revenue Service is still feeling its way on complicated fact patterns...

Renewable Energy Tax Credits Could be Merged

A single clean energy tax credit would be created by combining eight existing tax credits for generating electricity under a draft bill that the Senate tax-writing committee staff released in Dece...

Fees Paid by Portfolio Companies to Private Equity Funds

Private equity fund monitoring fees come under fire...

Like-Kind Exchange of Power Plants Ends Up in Court

A like-kind exchange is being litigated...

IP Holding Companies Lose in State Court

Separate holding companies for key assets like intellectual property or real estate were dealt a blow by an Arizona court  Home Depot set up a subsidiary in 1999 to hold its trademarks and other b...

The Volcker Rule

The Volcker Rule does not appear to prevent national banks from supplying tax equity to renewable energy projects structured as partnership flip transactions after federal bank regulators issued f...

US Duties Could Catch More Chinese Solar Panels

More Chinese solar panels could become subject to US import duties Duties could also be imposed on panels imported from Taiwan...

CFIUS Summarizes Actions

CFIUS reported to Congress in December that 19.3% of the 114 proposed acquisitions of US companies that were submitted for review in 2012 were later withdrawn...

IRS Finds Significant Issues on Tax Returns by Companies That Recieve Treasury Cash Grants

The Treasury Inspector General said in a report released in late January that an IRS “compliance initiative project” under which the agency is reviewing tax returns filed by companies that receive...

Relocation Payments

Relocation payments did not have to be reported as income...

Real Estate Investment Trusts

Real estate investment trusts may be easier for corporations to create through tax-free spinoffs of real estate assets than thought earlier...

Partnerships

Partnerships that require the sponsor to fund operating deficits without any promise of repayment or capital account credit risk having to report the funding for deficits as taxable income...

Biodiesel Blenders

Biodiesel blenders who claim excise tax credits for mixing biodiesel into diesel fuel can only deduct the net excise taxes they pay on the blended fuel after the credits, the IRS said...

A Partner

A partner did not have to report a share of partnership income until his partnership interest “vested...

Minor memos

North Carolina ranked second in new solar capacity additions in 2013...