Empact Launches Software Update for Latest Energy Community Compliance Guidelines
Energy Community and other tax adders are key elements of Empact’s industry-leading IRA compliance management software platform
Houston, TX (June 13, 2024) – Empact Technologies (Empact), a leading provider of IRA compliance management software and services for the renewable energy sector, releases a software update that incorporates support for the latest Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Energy Community Bonus Credit (energy community) compliance management and reporting requirements.
The software is the first in the industry to incorporate the most recent energy community guidelines released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on June 7th, 2024. Known as Notice 2024-48, the guidelines outline Energy Community Bonus qualification requirements for the “Statistical Area Category” and the “Coal Closure Category” in Notice 2023-29.
The IRA’s estimated $1.2 trillion in tax incentives covers three types of credits: a base energy project tax incentive (30 percent) for projects that meet prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements; a domestic content tax adder (10 percent); and an energy community tax adder (10 percent). Empact’s platform provides tax incentive compliance management for all three types of credits, including the newly-released guidelines in Notice 2024-48.
“The IRA provides an unprecedented opportunity for community and utility-scale developers, EPCs, and tax equity investors, but keeping up with the evolving guidance and managing project tax compliance is no small task.” says Charles Dauber, CEO and Founder of Empact. “We’re proud to provide a turnkey IRA compliance management system for clients, giving them all-in-one tools and services to ensure they can maximize the tax credits for their projects.”
To benefit from the energy community credit, a project must meet requirements for at least one of the three types of energy community sites defined in the Internal Revenue Code: 1) a brownfield site with limited reuse potential due to the presence of hazardous substances; 2) a metropolitan statistical area or non-metropolitan statistical area that has (or had at any time after 2009) a specified percentage of employment related to fossil fuels, and an unemployment rate at or above the national average for the past year; and 3) a census tract (or directly adjoining census tract) in which a coal mine has been closed or a coal-fired energy unit has been retired.
Notice 2024-48 can be used by developers to confirm project qualification for the Energy Community Bonus. Empact can support clients on eligibility requirements, and then manage compliance documentation and verification requirements on clients’ behalf.
The new version Empact’s software is provided at no additional cost to existing Empact clients, and is available to qualified community and utility-scale developers through a free trial. Interested developers can submit inquiries on Empact’s website.
About Empact Technologies
Empact Technologies maximizes the impact of clean energy project tax incentives with the industry’s premier IRA management platform. Empact combines proprietary SaaS technology with professional services, enabling projects to meet IRS regulatory requirements for prevailing wage and apprenticeship, domestic content, and energy and low-income community incentives. Developers use Empact to secure project construction financing, ensure regulatory compliance, and protect investors from IRS recapture risk. For more information, please visit empacttechnologies.com.