Opportunities to learn more in upcoming webinars and outreach
As part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released draft guidance on June 14 regarding key provisions in the IRA to expand the reach of the clean energy tax credits and help build projects more quickly and affordably.
The two new credit delivery mechanisms are (1) elective pay (otherwise known as “direct pay”); and (2) transferability. The purpose of these mechanisms is to enable state, local, Tribal governments, non-profit organizations and other entities to take advantage of clean energy tax credits. With these new credit delivery mechanisms, governments, many types of tax-exempt organizations, and even many businesses may derive more benefit from tax credits like those that incentivize renewable energy and energy efficient construction.
The National Association of Counties (NACo) will host a webinar on Thursday, June 22 at 3 p.m. EDT for members to learn more about the guidance and how counties can utilize the new elective pay and transferability mechanisms. Click here to register.
Additionally, U.S. Treasury is also conducting outreach to educate stakeholders, including through speaking engagements, webinars, and similar engagements in the coming months. This will include a series of webinars this summer, beginning on Thursday, June 29, where interested stakeholders can learn more. In addition, IRS.gov contains more information about the proposed and temporary guidance, as well as the underlying tax credits that can be used with elective pay and transferability.
Both the elective pay guidelines and transferability guidelines are scheduled to be published in the federal register on June 21 and available online at https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-12798, with written or electronic comments due by August 14, 2023.
Lastly, VACo provided a preview of these mechanisms last year (as part of our 2022 annual conference webinars) with a summary and explanation of how Virginia counties can take advantage of these investments. In this recorded webinar (and accompanying slides) a panel of experts walk through the basics of the IRA regarding eligible funding opportunities in regard to deployment of technology, and how federal energy tax credits have been significantly modified and increased so that counties can utilize them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
VACo Contacts: Joe Lerch, AICP and Katie Boyle