Tax insurance helps clean energy projects manage the risk of the IRS challenging their tax credits - like the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Production Tax Credit (PTC), or bonus depreciation. Instead of carrying that uncertainty, developers and investors can transfer it to insurers, adding confidence to project financing.
In this episode, Alejandro speaks with James Chenoweth Managing Director at Alliant Insurance Services, about how the market works and who’s using it. They also touch on the key areas of risk today, such as whether projects properly qualify for credits, potential recapture issues, and structuring above the project level, along with ongoing uncertainty around foreign ownership rules (FEOC), which are still awaiting clearer IRS guidance.
You can watch or listen to new episodes every Tuesday and Thursday.
Transmission is a Modo Energy production. Your host is Alejandro De Diego - US Market Analyst
Modo Energy helps the owners, operators, builders, and financiers of battery energy storage understand the market — and make the most out of their assets. Want all the latest power market news? Sign up for our free Weekly Dispatch newsletter: https://bit.ly/TheWeeklyDispatch
00:00:00 Introduction
00:03:48 What is tax insurance?
00:05:19 Who needs it and why?
00:06:18 Is a project insurable?
00:07:05 Insurable risk examples
00:07:51 Which technologies lead demand?
00:08:43 FEOC rules explained
00:09:56 How tax insurance is priced
00:10:57 Where it sits in the finance stack
00:13:49 Who benefits from risk transfer?
00:14:01 Impact on project returns
00:14:32 The next big insurable wedge
00:15:13 Why Texas leads the sector
00:15:57 Houston: oil & gas to renewables
00:17:14 War stories from the boom years
00:18:32 Advice for developers
00:19:07 Alliant's large-scale capabilities
00:21:00 Contrarian take: tax policy is stabilising