The Federal Investment Tax Credit for Solar Energy: Assessing and Addressing the Impact of the 2017 Step-Down Lead Authors: Stephen Comello Stefan Reichelstein∗ Contributing Authors: Karim Farhat Felix Mormanny Dan Reicher January 2, 2015 ∗All authors are with the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance at Stanford Univer- sity. Contact information:
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected]; mor-
[email protected] yAssociate Professor, University of Miami School of Law We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance and a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) grant administered through the Bay Area Photovoltaics Consortium (BAPVC) under Award Number DE-EE0004946. All errors are our own. Executive Summary: Findings and Recommendations Current legislation (26 USC §25D and 26 USC §48) stipulates that the federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar installations will be reduced from its current 30% rate to 10% on January 1, 2017 for solar energy systems.1 The ITC was initially created as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (P.L. 109-58) and extended through December 31, 2016 with the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-343). Since its inception, the solar ITC has been a significant federal mechanism to spur rapid growth in the deployment of solar PV systems. In conjunction with the depreciation tax shield provided through the Modified Accelerated Cost-Reduction System (MACRS), the ITC has played a significant role in promoting new investments in solar installations and manufacturing capacity for solar systems, including modules and electric systems.