By Julie Marion and E. Rene de Vera

On May 5, 2016, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2016-31 (Notice) to provide additional guidance regarding the “begun construction” requirement for renewable energy facilities seeking to qualify for the production tax credit (PTC) under Section 45 of the Internal Revenue Code (Code) or the investment tax credit (ITC) in lieu of the PTC under Code Section 48. The PTC and ITC were extended in December 2015 under the Consolidated Appropriations

By Julie M. Marion and Thomas Halpern

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (the Act), which President Obama signed into law on December 18, 2015, re-enacts the production tax credit (PTC) and investment tax credit (ITC) for wind energy projects and modifies and extends the 30% ITC for solar energy projects. For both resources, the Act generally provides a five-year extension, with a step-down in the amount of credit available depending on when construction of a project commences. For solar energy