SEIA: Clarity needed in these areas to best implement IRA

The Inflation Reduction Act is law, and now the real fun begins — implementing it. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) filed responses to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s request for public comments on the clean energy tax provisions, highlighting key areas in which clarity is most needed.

“The clean energy tax credit provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act are designed to create jobs and speed our energy transition in a just and equitable fashion over the next decade, making effective and durable implementation a critical part of our clean energy future,” said Sean Gallagher, vice president of state and regulatory affairs at SEIA. “SEIA’s regulatory and policy experts are deeply involved in the public comment process and continue to work hard to identify gaps and formulate policy recommendations that will help clean energy companies and the administration maximize the benefits of this law.”

There are several important tax provisions in the IRA that require more clarity, including domestic content specifications and whether companies can apply existing “Buy America” domestic content regulations to solar and storage facilities.

SEIA is also seeking a fair and open application process for the low-income community allocated tax credits that includes all market segments and contains strong consumer protection measures for low-income households.

SEIA also is encouraging Treasury to use transparent, easy to understand prevailing wage rates and to make reasonable accommodations on apprenticeship programs, such as defined geographic areas where employers should seek out apprenticeship programs.

The solar and storage industry and other stakeholders are responding to relevant requests for information and proposed rules about the IRA, and anticipates requests from the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, among others.

“Collaboration will be a key part of this process, and we’re calling on federal agencies to work with industry at every stage of implementation and move expeditiously to provide guidance,” Gallagher said.

SEIA is currently reviewing EPA’s recent request for information on its Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund and plans to comment on this program and future requests from DOE and other agencies.

— Solar Builder magazine

[source: https://solarbuildermag.com/news/seia-clarity-needed-in-these-areas-to-best-implement-ira/]