Section 1603 Program Extension is a Lifeline

When Congress passed the tax package this week, the renewable energy industry received a much-needed boost from a one-year extension of the start-of-construction deadline in the Section 1603 Program.  Project construction now can begin by the end of 2011 in order to qualify for the Treasury Department’s cash grant as a substitute for energy tax credits. “The Section 1603 grant has been a lifesaver and boost for the renewable energy industry over the past two years given the downturn in the economy.  While the industry and the economy are starting to turn around, there is still a long way to go and this extension is extremely important; it gives renewables another year of this lifeline. Without it, it would have been unclear whether many new renewable energy projects would have been able to begin in 2011 or going forward,” said Gregory F. Jenner, a partner in the Tax practice group at Stoel Rives LLP in Minneapolis, and former Acting Assistant and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy.  Jenner is available for interviews. [12/17/2010]