Thursday, December 7, 2017

USA: Consequences for Geothermal Electric Industry of New Tax Legislation

A Clean Energy Guide to the Tax Legislation Conference Committee (Rhodium Group)


Broad tax legislation advanced by the US Congress in recent weeks is headed toward a conference committee, where Republicans in the House and Senate will hash out their differences. In this article we identify which provisions matter most for clean energy.

Geothermal electric power plants currently have a permanent 10 percent ITC. Under the House bill, this would be eliminated in 2027. Geothermal would also likely get hit by the BEAT provision in the Senate bill, though not nearly as much as wind and solar due to less reliance on tax equity partners.