Project Finance NewsWire

January 2011

IN THIS ISSUE

More Subsidies for US Energy Projects
Congress gave developers of US renewable energy projects in late December another year through December 2011 to get new projects under construction to qualify for cash grants from the US Treasury for 30% ...

DOE Loan Guarantee Update
Negotiations with the US Department of Energy over loan guarantees for innovative and renewable energy projects have been moving much faster since a confidential White House memorandum critiquing ...

California Cap-and-Trade Program Takes Shape
After a year and a half of protracted negotiations among utilities, wholesale generators and consumer advocates, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a global settlement in December...

Master Financing Facilities for Solar Projects
Small solar photovoltaic systems mounted on rooftops or on the ground near houses, big box stores, commercial office buildings and schools are best financed by setting up a “master financing facil...

PPPs in the Middle East
There is currently a lot of focus across the Middle East on the public-private partnership as a viable means of procuring public infrastructure such as power plants, water desalination and wastewa...

Environmental Update
A federal “tailoring rule” took effect on January 2, 2011 in all states except Texas. The tailoring rule sets thresholds for when emissions of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane ...


IN OTHER NEWS

California
CALIFORNIA said it does not intend to collect taxes on Treasury cash grants paid on renewable energy projects unless instructed to do otherwise by the courts.

A tax equity transaction
A TAX EQUITY TRANSACTION with some aggressive features was upheld by the US Tax Court in early January ...

Brazil
Brazil took steps in December to stimuluate the provision of long-term capital to infrastructure projects.

South Africa
SOUTH AFRICA is moving to impose taxes on carbon emissions.

A Canadian Appeals Court
A Canadian appeals court allowed General Electric Capital Canada, Inc. to deduct C$136.4 million that the company paid its US parent company to guarantee debt of the Canadian subsidiary...

The European Commission
The European Commission is looking into charges that a special “economic crisis tax” that Hungary imposed in October violates European Union law...

Chinese Wind Subsidies
Chinese wind subsidies are being challenged by the United States in a complaint to the World Trade Organization...

Solar Panels
Solar panels and batteries that a utility plans to install in some customer homes as part of an experiment to test different approaches to energy conservation do not have to be reported by the hom...

Grants
Grants normally must be reported by grant recipients as income, but not grants paid by the US Department of Energy to manufacturers of electricity storage devices and related components...

Germany
Germany took steps in late November to shut down the use of Maltese holding companies to make outbound investments. A large majority of German blue chip companies have such holding companies...

Minor memos
Owners of biomass projects were given a reprieve by the US Environmental Protection Agency. The agency announced on January 12 that it will wait at least three years before subjecting such projects...