New Project Media, a subscription news outlet focused on the renewable energy sector, interviewed Houston partner Durham McCormick for a June 3, 2020, story on the extension of tax credits for wind and solar projects affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Internal Revenue Service extended the safe harbor rule for the production tax credit (PTC) and energy investment tax credit (ITC) from four years to five years for projects that started construction in 2016 or 2017. The extension will help minimize the impact of supply chain disruptions and project delays caused by the pandemic.
McCormick, co-leader of the firm’s renewable energy team, said the extension provides a boost for the wind sector. “This is a big deal for a lot of the wind farms that were planning on being operational this year,” McCormick said. “It’s safe to say that of those projects that were going to be built this year, 90 percent or higher had begun construction in 2016 or 2017. Probably even 80 percent or higher had begun construction in 2016. The vast majority of current construction projects are affected by this. There’s probably a decent chunk — upwards of 20 percent — that desperately needed this type of relief.”