Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

U.S. Tax Reform Would Leave Renewable Energy Out in the Cold

Bloomberg: The prospects for a broad tax reform with lower corporate rates has excited business leaders and boosted the stock market -- except for renewable energy.

Tax reform “will make renewables more expensive,” Keith Martin, a partner at law firm Norton Rose Fulbright, said in an interview Tuesday at Infocast’s Solar Connect conference in San Diego.

The reasons: reducing corporate taxes would threaten a key source of clean-power financing. A broad reform of the tax code may also lead to pricier debt for new power plants and lower savings from depreciation. And some developers are concerned about the future of two critical U.S. tax credits. President Donald Trump campaigned on tax reform, and the S&P 500 Index has gained more than 18 percent since the election, while the Bloomberg Global Large Solar Energy index of 16 companies has slumped 13 percent.

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