FIA Sends Letter to Congress Requesting Fusion Energy Receives Equal Clean Energy Tax Treatment

The FIA sends a letter to the Senate Finance Committee asking Congress to ensure that fusion energy is eligible for the same 48C manufacturing tax credits that other clean, zero carbon energy sources are eligible for.

On September 30, 2021, the CEO of the Fusion Industry Association, Andrew Holland, sent a letter to Chairman Ron Wyden and Ranking Member Mike Crapo requesting that fusion energy be explicitly included in the 26 USC 48C tax credit given for the manufacturing of clean energy equipment, as part of anticipated amendments to reconciliation legislation
pending before the Senate Finance Committee.

The FIA strongly supports a technology-neutral approach to the production and
investment tax credit regime for clean energy generation, but current law does not do so for the tax credit for manufacturing of clean energy equipment in 26 USC 48C. As a result,
fusion energy may not be clearly covered under the Section 48C tax credit once reactivated by Congress.

We know that fusion energy will be a manufacturing-intensive technology, and tax credit parity is essential to ensure this technology is given a fair chance to thrive. To resolve this potential gap, the FIA suggests defining fusion as “qualifying advanced energy property.” The FIA also strongly encourages that this tax credit be treated as a direct payment
of taxes, so pre-revenue companies can still see the benefit from it in the form of tax refunds, as has been the case for other nascent technologies.

More detail is in the tax credit letter, embedded below.

The Fusion Industry Association and its members are working to commercialize fusion power, on a time period that matters. Fusion energy will be the industry of the future, but supporting fusion energy is not just an investment that will pay off in the long-term. Investing in fusion will create new, good jobs today as companies and scientists build the facilities that will prove the science of fusion. It will create the high-tech industrial base that spawns spinoffs and a new era of prosperity.

The CEO of the Fusion Industry Association is available for comment.