Bottom Line on Renewable Energy Tax Credits

This World Resources Institute fact sheet outlines US federal tax incentives for renewable energy as of September 2010. It details the Production Tax Credit (PTC), which is based on electrical output, and the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), which is based on capital investment. It also describes the Treasury cash grant for ITC-eligible projects, the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit (MTC) for domestic facilities, and depreciation rules like MACRS.

• The Federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) serve as incentives for the deployment and development of renewable energy. The PTC is based on the electrical output of grid-connected facilities measured in kilowatt-hours, while the ITC is based on the dollar amount of capital investment and is earned when equipment is placed into service.
• The Treasury cash grant allows ITC-eligible projects to receive up to 30% of their capital investment as a direct grant rather than a tax credit. Following the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), projects that are eligible for the PTC may also elect the ITC and subsequently the cash grant.
• The Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit (MTC) provides credits to domestic manufacturing facilities that are re-equipped, expanded, or new to support clean energy. In April 2010, the IRS and Department of Energy allocated these credits based on factors including GHG reductions, job creation, and commercial viability.
• Eligibility for the PTC requires the owner to be a tax-paying entity that sells electricity to an unrelated third party, with assets located in the United States. Wind projects must be placed in service between December 31, 1992 and January 1, 2013, while other eligible technologies have until January 1, 2014.
• The ITC is available for systems placed in service between December 31, 2005 and December 31, 2016. While the ITC does not have a total credit value limit per project, it does impose per kW capacity limits for specific technologies: $3,000 per kW for fuel cells and $200 per kW for microturbines.

APA

World Resources Institute (2010). Bottom Line on Renewable Energy Tax Credits. https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-renewable-energy-tax-credits

Chicago

World Resources Institute. Bottom Line on Renewable Energy Tax Credits. 2010. https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-renewable-energy-tax-credits.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=Bottom Line on Renewable Energy Tax Credits |date=12 September 2010 |url=https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-renewable-energy-tax-credits |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2010bottom, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{Bottom Line on Renewable Energy Tax Credits}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2010}, month = sep, url = {https://www.wri.org/research/bottom-line-renewable-energy-tax-credits}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }