Code Section 48C

 

Code Section Effective Date Name of Act Name of Provision 10yr Revenue Estimate ($millions)
48C 2/17/2009 The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5) Credit for investment in advanced energy property -1,647

Credit for investment in advanced energy property

Explanation of Provision

The provision establishes a 30-percent allocated credit for investment in qualified property used in a qualified advanced energy manufacturing project. The provision authorizes the Secretary of the Treasury to allocate up to $2.3 billion of credits.

A qualified advanced energy project is a project that re-equips, expands, or establishes a manufacturing facility for the production of: (1) property designed to be used to produce energy from the sun, wind, or geothermal deposits (within the meaning of section 613(e)(2)), or other renewable resources; (2) fuel cells, microturbines, or an energy storage system for use with electric or hybridelectric motor vehicles; (3) electric grids to support the transmission of intermittent sources of renewable energy, including storage of such energy; (4) property designed to capture and sequester carbon dioxide; (5) property designed to refine or blend renewable fuels (but not fossil fuels) or to produce energy conservation technologies (including energy-conserving lighting technologies and smart grid technologies); (6) property designed to manufacture any new qualified plug-in electric drive motor vehicle (as defined by section 30D(c)), any qualified plug-in electric vehicle (as defined by section 30(d)), or any component which is designed specifically for use with such vehicles, including any electric motor, generator, or power control unit; or (7) other advanced energy property designed VerDate Marto reduce greenhouse gas emissions as may be determined by the Secretary.

Qualified property must be depreciable (or amortizable) property used in a qualified advanced energy project and must consist of tangible personal property or other tangible property (not including building or its structural components). Qualified property does not include property designed to manufacture equipment for use in the refining or blending of any transportation fuel other than renewable fuels. The basis of qualified property must be reduced by the amount of credit received.

Credits are available only for projects certified by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy. The Secretary of the Treasury must establish a certification program no later than 180 days after date of enactment, and may allocate up to $2.3 billion in credits.

In selecting projects, the Secretary may consider only those projects where there is a reasonable expectation of commercial viability. In addition, the Secretary must consider other selection criteria, including which projects (1) will provide the greatest domestic job creation; (2) will provide the greatest net impact in avoiding or reducing air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases; (3) have the greatest potential for technological innovation or commercial deployment; (4) have the lowest levelized cost of generated or stored energy, or of measured reduction in energy consumption or greenhouse gas emission; and (5) have the shortest project time from certification to completion.

Each project application must be submitted during the two-year period beginning on the date such certification program is established. An applicant for certification has one year from the date the Secretary accepts the application to provide the Secretary with evidence that the requirements for certification have been met. Upon certification, the applicant has three years from the date of issuance of the certification to place the project in service. Not later than four years after the date of enactment of the credit, the Secretary is required to review the credit allocations and redistribute any credits that were not used either because of a revoked certification or because of an insufficient quantity of credit applications.

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