Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Understanding ‘safe harbor’ for extending your 30 percent solar ITC qualification

Renewable Energy World: Just after the midnight hour of New Year’s Eve 2020, more than confetti will be abandoned on America’s sidewalks and parlors. Somewhere around $130 million dollars of Investment Tax Credit (ITC) from that year’s anticipated Commercial & Industrial solar projects will fall out from any hope of reaching the proverbial pocket books of the nation’s infrastructure investors (assuming 2000MW of C&I and Community solar, and a $2/w installation cost). On 1/1/20, the ITC drops to 26 percent, a first step to further decrease the following year.

Except, if you plan, the IRS has created legal methods to freeze the 30 percent ITC for future projects terminating in 2020 or even a couple of years beyond. The process is called Safe Harbor.

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