Direct Pay Out? Reports from DC are that Joe Manchin is pushing direct pay provisions out of the possible energy bill that would see the ITC extended and a storage ITC implemented amongst other things. This may be an unpopular opinion amongst readers but I believe that a real tax credit creates a better industry, market and long term upside for solar. The reason is that tax equity investors, for the most part, cause assets to be more credibly financed and professionally operated once installed. A direct pay provision would eliminate many of the hurdles and barriers of project finance. Some will say it costs too much, is too complicated, the lawyers take all the money, and I hear you on that; but there is a value to making projects have to stand up to scrutiny and vetting by institutional investors. Either way, a step forward with an extension is a step in the right direction.
- Washington Post: Democrats may drop another clean energy proposal to appease Manchin
- Utility Dive: Energy storage soars despite international and national supply challenges – report
- Axios: Oil giants criticized for uneven clean energy investment
- Bloomberg: Ex-BOE Governor Mark Carney’s Fund Raises $15 Billion for Energy Transition
- New York Times: A Big Step Toward Fusion Energy Is Hailed by a Seattle Start-Up
- Solar Builder: N.C. Supreme Court rules against HOAs that prevent home solar installations
- Energy Storage News: Australia’s capacity mechanism ‘shouldn’t lock in reliance on aging and polluting generators’
- PV-Magazine: RETC releases 2022 Module Index Report
Opinion
Best, Yann