IN THIS ISSUE

Survival Strategies: The Challenges In Utility-Scale Renewable Energy

The US put incentives in place in 1978 after the Arab oil embargo to encourage more use of renewable energy. They were allowed to lapse in 1985...

Treasury Cash Grant Update

New Trend: Combining Gas with Wind and Solar Projects

First Wind proposed a change in August to the 500-megawatt Baseline wind farm that it is developing in Oregon. The company proposes to add up to 200 megawatts of natural gas generating capacity...

The Search for Lowest Cost Capital

Financings in the US relied heavily the last three years on stimulus grants and federally-guaranteed debt. Both are disappearing...

Prepaid Power Contracts

Developers are taking another look at prepaid power contracts as a way of reducing the cost of capital for utility-scale renewable energy projects...

The Rush Into Latin America: Are Developers Making Money South of the Border?

A slowing market on the US mainland has sent developers scurrying into Mexico, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Puerto Rico, among other locations...

Biomass Suffers A Setback

Massachusetts made it harder in August, after two years of study, for power plants that use biomass as fuel to qualify for full renewable energy credits under the state’s renewable portfolio stand...

PPPs: Has The US Finally Found a Path Forward?

Many new public-private partnership transactions are now springing up around the United States to bring private sector dollars to help upgrade roads, airports, public transit, ports, hospitals, co...

Distributed Solar: Unalloyed Growth Story?

Solar companies broke open the US rooftop market by offering customers the option to lease or buy electricity from solar systems that the companies put on roofs but continue to own...

Liquefied Natural Gas Exporters Queue Up

The US Department of Energy gave final approval in August to Sabine Pass Liquefaction LLC to export up to the equivalent of 2...

The Remaking of the US Power Sector

Low natural gas prices are turning the energy sector upside down. Gas prices are at their lowest level since 2002, having fallen 54% in the past 12 months...

Governments Move to General Principles to Combat Aggressive Tax Planning

For several days in the early summer, the news media in the United Kingdom were dominated by the apparently shocking revelation that a well-known TV comedian had not been paying “enough tax...

Environmental update

Power plants in 28 US states, mostly east of the Mississippi River, received a reprieve in late August from a US appeals court.

IN OTHER NEWS

A Power Contract

A power contract ruling is withdrawn...

California

CALIFORNIA explained further in early September in what circumstances it will treat the transfer of an interest in a solar project as a trigger to start collecting property axes on the project.

A Tax Equity Transaction

A tax equity transaction with aggressive features was struck down by a US appeals court in August...

Gillette

Gillette opened the door to possible refund claims for companies operating in multiple US states. Each US state taxes income earned in the state...

A Large Sales Tax

A large sales tax ended up having to be paid on construction of an ethanol plant in Nebraska, but it could have been avoided if the construction contract had been drafted differently...

An Interesting Inbound Investment Structure

An interesting inbound investment structure into the US was upheld by the US Tax Court...

The US Department of Justice

The US Department of Justice is expected to issue new guidance on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by October...

Projects on US Indian Reservations

Projects on US Indian reservations qualify potentially for tax-exempt financing using “tribal economic development bonds...

Advanced Coal

Advanced coal power plants and gasification projects can apply for $685.5 million in federal tax credits...

Brazil

Brazil said in June that it will limit collection of a 6% financial transactions tax, called the IOF, to loans of up to two years. Brazil increased the tax rate from 0...

Argentina

Argentina said in July that it is terminating its tax treaty with Spain effective at year end.

Mauritius

Mauritius remains under pressure from India to modify a tax treaty between the two countries...

A Tax Opinion

A tax opinion cannot be relied on to avoid IRS penalties if the lawyer writing the opinion helped promote the transaction and receives fees that are tied to the tax benefits produced...

Foreign Tax Credits

Foreign tax credits may soon be at issue in a case before the US Supreme Court...

Carbon Credits

Carbon credits did not have to be reported as income by a US real estate investment trust. The REIT invests in timberland. Some of its investments are in a foreign country...

Developers

Developers who receive interests in projects in exchange for ongoing services should consider making a section 83(b) election to pay taxes on the interest upon receipt rather than waiting for it t...

A Management Contract

A management contract for a private company to operate the portion of the electricity grid belonging to a municipal utility will not cause loss of the tax exemption on debt the utility used to fin...

Barge-Mounted Power Plants

Barge-mounted power plants are probably not “vessels” for tax purposes...

Minor Memos

MINOR MEMOS. A US carbon tax of $20 a ton would raise $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years, according to a study released in August by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.