{"id":163663,"date":"2025-12-29T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pv-tech.org\/?p=163663"},"modified":"2025-12-18T12:23:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T12:23:33","slug":"the-race-is-on-for-us-solar-developers-to-reach-safe-harbour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pv-tech.org\/the-race-is-on-for-us-solar-developers-to-reach-safe-harbour\/","title":{"rendered":"The race is on for US solar developers to reach \u2018safe harbour\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
The deadlines have been ‘driving a lot of decisions and activity within the developer community,’ says Gideon Gradman. Image: Pixabay.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There will be a flurry of activity in the next six months as solar project developers look to lock in the expiring Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits under \u201csafe harbour\u201d regulations, according to Gideon Gradman, a managing director at the Energy and Infrastructure Advisory practice at accounting firm Baker Tilly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4 July 2026 is the cut-off for solar projects to start construction to lock in the credits before they expire; a 31 December 2025 lock-in means they can also avoid the potentially onerous Foreign Entity of Concern (FEOC) restrictions due to kick in next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gradman and Beckett Woodworth, a manager with Baker Tilly’s Federal Credits and Incentives practice, speak to PV Tech Premium<\/em> about the current state of play for safe harbouring solar projects, and what impacts it might have on the industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018It\u2019s a subjective test\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and president Trump\u2019s executive order<\/a> three days later, urging the Treasury to turn the screws on solar project construction rules, sowed anxiety in the US solar industry as they waited to see how steep the cliff edge for IRA credits would be. The Treasury guidance that followed<\/a> changed the way the US determines the \u201cstart of construction\u201d for a project looking to gain tax credits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHistorically, there\u2019s been two ways to establish the beginning of construction,\u201d Gradman says. \u201cYou can either use what\u2019s called the Physical Work Test, or the 5% safe harbour test.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 5% test required that \u201c5% or more of ITC-eligible costs\u201d had been spent, \u201cand that allows you to trigger the date of construction using financial means, maybe before you start physical construction,\u201d Gradman explains. Now, for solar and wind projects larger than 1.5MW, the 5% safe harbour test no longer applies, meaning all projects must demonstrate \u201cphysical work of a significant nature\u201d by 4 July 2026 in order to register the start of construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat has been driving a lot of decisions and activity within the developer community … everyone is very focused on starting a project before 4 July,\u201d Gradman says. If a project gains safe harbour before that date, it has four years to complete construction. If it misses that date, the timeline is slashed to the end of 2027. Companies that want to avoid FEOC restrictions on the use of Chinese-made, funded or affiliated products need to be over the line by 31 December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe IRS describes [physical work] as a facts and circumstances test,\u201d Woodworth says. \u201cIt focuses on the nature of work performed, not the cost or the amount that\u2019s spent.\u201d He says that there are some examples in Treasury notices about what counts as physical work, \u201cbut they\u2019re pretty vague.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe physical work test is a subjective test,\u201d Gradman adds. \u201cIt\u2019s subject to audit, to tech, to scrutiny.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developers can do on-site or off-site work to qualify. The latter has to be performed under a binding contract, Woodworth explains, and requires paying attention to which products are available and will be produced directly as a result of a developer’s order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt can\u2019t be equipment that is normally held in inventory,\u201d Gradman says, which often rules out solar modules and requires more creative thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as time passes and the deadline looms, \u201cthere are fewer and fewer equipment makers who are comfortable with committing to meeting the fabrication [by the deadline],\u201d according to Gradman. That pressure increases by an order of magnitude for developers looking to avoid FEOC, with fewer products available and less time to find them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On-site work can\u2019t be land-related, because land is not eligible for the ITC, so grading land, fencing and building access roads don\u2019t count.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe [Treasury] notice just included the installation of racks to affix PV panels, connectors or solar cells to a site\u2014that\u2019s it. But there are many other ways to satisfy the test,\u201d Woodworth says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMore is better,\u201d adds Gradman. \u201cSo, to the extent that you do more physical work, spend more money on your physical work, do more activity; that is considered a stronger case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He describes a list of questions and criteria he would put to a developer, pushing at the significance of the on- or off-site work for the project as a whole and comparing it with the money expended, given the chance that the tax credit could be unforthcoming.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s understandably nebulous and undefined,\u201d he says, \u201cAnd on the one hand, I think that\u2019s of benefit to developers because it allows you to have many different activities that can be considered eligible. On the other, it\u2019s not as objective as a 5% safe harbour.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘It’s lit a fire in the short term\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The more restrictive safe harbour and start of construction rules have \u201clit a fire\u201d under developers, Gradman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLit a fire in the sense that it has had a significant positive impact in the short term. Projects that weren\u2019t sure if they were going to move forward are going forward because they want to capture these incentives. Project developers who may have been financially weak are either raising money to finish their last set of projects, or they are being purchased by other developers who are better funded.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of the projects beginning construction between now and 4 July 2026 will have \u201cfour-plus years\u201d to complete, he points out, \u201cSo we\u2019re looking at construction activity and new project deployments through 2030 just by simple math.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says it could result in a higher total deployment of new solar over the next four years than might otherwise have occurred, as even projects which miss the 4 July deadline can try to complete by the end of 2027, which might favour more rooftop or smaller-scale solar projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IRA tax credits can make or break projects, hence the rush to secure safe harbour. \u201cThese tax credits can provide 6-50% of your money back in capital expenditure; if a developer is expecting 50% back, then [losing the credit] makes a lot of these projects unviable,\u201d Woodworth explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 2030, though, things may change dramatically. \u201cI don\u2019t want to say a cliff,\u201d Gradman continues, \u201cbut you\u2019ll see a significant decline after the continuity safe harbour period ends, because the lack of pipeline will catch up with the construction schedule.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Non-taxpayers ‘don’t have the risk apetite\u2019<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

But the changes are likely to make things harder for smaller, \u201cnon-taxable entities\u201d, Woodworth explains. By \u201cnon-taxable entities\u201d he means schools, town halls, churches, non-profits and other public entities that might stand to benefit from a solar installation to reduce their energy bills or provide more self-sufficient power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe IRA allowed churches, schools, towns and cities to take advantage of tax credits through direct payment\u2014like a rebate,\u201d he explains, \u201cBut now, with these rules becoming more strenuous, these entities don\u2019t have the risk appetite to start construction on a new solar facility because they just won\u2019t get the credit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Direct payment was introduced alongside credit transferability to spread the benefits of federal credits more widely, giving payments equivalent to tax credits to public entities, with some options to increase payments for low-income areas or meeting apprenticeship and employment criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is really unfortunate, because those non-taxable entities really need the energy and cost savings from [solar installations]. I think it may be disproportionately affecting them, actually,\u201d Woodworth says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some projects by towns, cities or churches are likely to be below 1.5MW, which will mean they can use the 5% safe harbour mechanism rather than the physical work test, which is a lower bar to reach. But meeting FEOC guidelines will be even harder for a smaller public development than a private one; \u201cI don\u2019t think nonprofits and non-taxable entities will be willing to spend that extra cash on compliance costs like private developers are,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, non-taxpayers are required to meet thresholds for domestic content in order to gain tax credits, even if they are small enough to use the 5% spend qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeting domestic content targets is difficult in the solar industry. \u201cIt\u2019s not impossible,\u201d Gradman says, \u201cbut it\u2019s difficult to meet, and after 2026 if you do not meet the domestic content requirements as a non-tax payer, you do not get a credit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic content requirements under the IRA were designed to give an incentive to buy US-made products; companies can get an extra 10% tax break if they meet the cost-based threshold for using US products and components. But as a requirement for entities like non-profits, churches and local authorities, it becomes another barrier to access, as US-made products are often more expensive and, particularly in the solar industry, are in very high demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The changes to safe harbour rules ultimately push tax benefits for solar away from smaller, public entities and towards big private developers. This might help the industry keep moving, but it will have detrimental effects on access to solar and renewable energy in the US. But for developers, the race is on until 4 July.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

PV Tech spoke with accountancy firm Baker Tilly about the new safe harbour and ‘start of construction’ rules for US solar projects. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":161,"featured_media":152937,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,4],"tags":[13697,116,13535,13292,95,13492,125,9461,79],"paywall-tags":[8671],"regions":[29],"industry-segments":[26,10,24],"class_list":["post-163663","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-interviews","tag-baker-tilly","tag-finance","tag-obbb","tag-one-big-beautiful-bill","tag-pv-power-plants","tag-safe-harbour","tag-solar-pv","tag-tax-credit","tag-us","paywall-tags-premium","regions-americas","industry-segments-financial-legal","industry-segments-markets-finance","industry-segments-policy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe race is on 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