{"id":1886,"date":"2022-11-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fusionindustryassociation.org\/index.php\/2022\/11\/07\/nrc-decision-separates-fusion-energy-regulation-from-nuclear-fission-18\/"},"modified":"2023-05-07T23:39:19","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T03:39:19","slug":"fia-submits-letters-to-the-treasury-urging-fusion-tax-equality-with-clean-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fusionindustryassociation.org\/fia-submits-letters-to-the-treasury-urging-fusion-tax-equality-with-clean-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"FIA Submits Letters to the Treasury, Urging Fusion Tax Equality with Clean Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Fusion Industry Association wrote letters (embedded below) in response to the Treasury Department’s Internal Revenue Service\u2019s (IRS) requests for comment on implementing the “Energy Security Tax Credits for Manufacturing<\/u><\/a>” (Notice 2022-47) and on “Certain Energy Generation Incentives<\/u><\/a>” (Notice 2022-49) as enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. In these letters, the FIA and its members urge the Secretary of the Treasury ensures that fusion receives equal tax treatment to other clean energy sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often referred to as \u201cthe holy grail of clean energy\u201d, fusion could provide a virtually limitless clean (emitting no greenhouse gas emissions), safe, and affordable source of firm power to meet the global demand. After decades of scientific research, we are now approaching the dawn of commercial fusion. Private fusion firms are rapidly scaling up, achieving scientific and investment breakthroughs, and gaining confidence in their projected timescales. 93% of the private fusion industry anticipates fusion power on the grid in the 2030s or before, up from the 83% of the industry that thought this last year.<\/u><\/a> Hosting a White House Summit in March 2022 on “Developing a Bold Decadal Vision for Fusion<\/u><\/a>“, the US government aligns. Recent scientific, investment, and policy breakthroughs for fusion are significant for achieving fusion commercialization on a timeline relevant to mitigating the climate crisis. Including fusion as a clean energy source in the Inflation Reduction Act will help pave the way for its acceleration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Energy Security Tax Credits for Manufacturing (Notice 2022-47)<\/h6>\n\n\n\n

This letter comments specifically on the implementation of the qualifying advanced energy project credit under \u00a7 48C of the Internal Revenue Code. The FIA and its members request \u201ccommercial fusion energy systems or components\u201d be included as an \u201cadvanced energy property\u201d so that the expansion, re-equipment, or construction of new industrial or manufacturing facilities for fusion energy systems are eligible for the tax credit. Commercial fusion energy is on the horizon, and this tax credit can catalyze substantial near-term growth in US manufacturing of high-value fusion device components\u2013which today are currently manufactured abroad, particularly in China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the U.S. to remain competitive in this emerging technology sector, it\u2019s vital that federal policy align to encourage its development here rather than in foreign markets. We need not repeat the past mistakes by ceding the manufacture of strategic technologies, such as semiconductors, solar power or batteries, to foreign suppliers. Expanding the definition of \u201cadvanced energy property\u201d under the \u00a7 48C credit to accommodate fusion energy could help avoid that, and spur job creation in the manufacturing of commercial fusion components in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n