Bloomberg: "Tax Credit to Transition Coal Towns Blunted by Law's Definition"
A piece about a potential tax credit for energy communities draws heavily from an RFF blog post on the same topic.
[The tax credit] will likely cover projects in Appalachia decimated by mine and plant closures—the places championed by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), whose support was required for passage of the bill, known as the Inflation Reduction Act (Public Law 117-169).
But the bill’s definition of an “energy community” could span half the country, according to a recent analysis by environmental research group Resources for the Future.
If the interpretation is accurate, “the energy communities provision in the IRA does not target the communities that are most dependent on fossil fuels in a very precise way,” said Daniel Raimi, an RFF fellow and director of its Equity in the Energy Transition Initiative, who drew up a map with Sophie Pesek, an RFF research analyst.
“But if the intention is to make lots of the United States eligible for this additional tax credit, then it does do that,” Raimi said.
