SWANA Provides Comments on US IRS Proposed Regulations for Energy Tax Credits

January 23, 2024 – The Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) and the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) submitted comments on the US Treasury Department, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on the Definition of Energy Property and Rules Applicable to the Energy Credit, Docket ID No. IRS-2023-0054.

The United States’ Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 includes an energy credit for eligible energy property under Section 48 Investment Tax Credit (ITC). This tax credit applies to several types of property, including “qualified biogas property.”

As described in SWANA’s I Am SWANA Newsletter and the MySWANA forum, there are concerns that the proposed regulations define “qualified biogas property” to exclude the gas upgrading equipment used to transfer the gas into the format for injection into the pipeline.

Biogas at landfills, anaerobic digesters, wastewater treatment plants, and other facilities can be converted into renewable natural gas (RNG), renewable energy, and other renewable fuels with gas upgrading equipment. The exclusion of the upgrading equipment in the qualified biogas property definition could limit the advancement of biogas projects.

Click here to read SWANA’s comments in a joint statement with the NWRA.

SWANA will be testifying at the IRS public hearing on these proposed regulations on February 20, 2024, at 10 a.m. ET. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Kristyn Oldendorf, Director of Public Policy, at koldendorf@swana.org.