Following Manchin efforts, Department of Treasury and IRS release guidance for CCUS and renewables projects

Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement on the announcement from U.S. Department of Treasury to extend safe harbor protections for energy projects receiving the production tax credit (PTC) or investment tax credit (ITC) and the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) release of additional regulatory guidance on the 45Q tax credit for carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects.

Last month, Ranking Member Manchin joined a bipartisan group of Senators in asking the Department of Treasury to issue guidance to ensure that projects already under construction or recently entering operation could obtain the tax credits despite delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2019, Ranking Member Manchin urged the IRS to issue the regulatory guidance necessary for developers of carbon capture projects to take advantage of the 45Q tax credit following enactment of Ranking Member Manchin’s FUTURE Act.

“Yesterday’s decision from the Department of Treasury and announcement from the IRS provide much needed assurances to CCUS, wind and solar energy project developers, including those in West Virginia. The Treasury announcement resolves uncertainty about financing for energy facilities under construction but experiencing delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft regulations relating to the 45Q tax credit from the IRS are critical to advancing CCUS projects that help reduce carbon emissions while keeping our energy dependable and affordable. The economic toll the COVID-19 pandemic has taken on all U.S. energy industries is significant, and this clarification from the Department of Treasury and IRS eases some of that burden without adding any cost to American taxpayers. I applaud these announcements.”

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