In terms of allowing developers to access clean energy tax credits before they’re phased out in coming years, recent IRS rules on applicable projects aren’t as bad as some feared—but they also could be more clear on the particulars, a lawyer told Tech Brew.
The rules were drafted by the Department of Treasury as a follow-up to the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, and in response to a Trump executive order to clarify what counts as “beginning construction” on a wind or solar energy project. A project’s ability to claim tax credits is based on when it begins construction, or what the rules call “physical work.” And the new rules say that the “physical work test” is now the only way that projects can prove they’ve commenced construction, though passage of the test will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
“Construction of an applicable wind or solar facility begins when physical work of a significant nature…
