Solar Energy

Law, Legislation, Document.

On June 16, 2025, the Senate Finance Committee released its version of the “One, Big Beautiful Bill” (OBBB) that would create a steep phase-out of renewable energy tax credits—notably, renewable energy companies would have to start construction on wind and solar projects before December 31, 2025, to receive 100% of the available tax credits. The reconciliation process is far from over, and there are further revisions expected to the text, but the Senate Finance Committee is the final committee in the Senate expected to release legislative text related to energy tax credits.

Its version of the bill includes the following provisions.

Proposed changes to Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, solar tariffs, restrictions on wind energy, orders promoting fossil fuels, and a push for energy-related deregulation are just a few of the executive and legislative actions impacting renewable energy that have arisen at the federal, state, and local levels since President Donald Trump took office. We have…

Photovoltaic solar panels on sunset sky background,green clean e

Performance guarantees and performance liquidated damages (PLDs) are an essential element of most engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracts, especially those related to solar and biogas projects; they make guaranteed levels of project performance, quality, and output enforceable. Specifically, PLDs compensate project owners for financial losses (or a reasonable approximation of them) incurred when projects fail to meet performance guarantees. Appropriately structuring PLDs in EPC contracts requires protecting project owners while balancing the risks for contractors, whose costs will often increase commensurate with increased contract risk. Ultimately, well-structured PLDs protect project owners, allocate appropriate risk to EPC contractors, and reassure financing parties that projects will perform as anticipated.

This blog post is the second part of a series on incentives available to Missouri solar developers in the wake of Johnson v. Springfield Solar 1, LLC, 648 S.W.3d 101 (Mo. 2022). For part one on Missouri Chapter 100 bond abatements and the Springfield Solar 1, LLC decision, click here.

Enhanced Enterprise Zones …

Solar panels with sunset and blue sky background. Clean power en

As nations continue developing renewable energy infrastructure to meet sustainability targets, some are creating unique approaches to ensure they meet their stated goals. In what is expected to be a first for any nation (developed or otherwise), the Energy Ministry of Israel is enacting new country-wide regulations requiring all new non-residential buildings to have rooftop solar panels. 

When President Jimmy Carter installed rooftop solar panels on the White House, public support for adoption of renewable energy was at a then all-time high and many imagined the possibility of rooftop solar on their own homes and in their own communities. Yet, barriers such as the high up-front installation cost of panels, and of…

Over the past decade, Missouri has experienced steady growth in utility-scale solar projects[1] and developers have benefited from a property tax exemption under Section 137.100(10) of the state’s tax code. Since the statutory property tax exemption was passed in 2013, solar facilities have leveraged the tax exemption to offset development and operations costs. Until recently, the solar facility tax exemption had flown largely under the radar, as even the largest solar facilities to come online in Missouri have been smaller than 15 megawatts[2]. Over the last few years, however, Missouri counties have started to see the kind of interest from large utility-scale solar developers that states in the south have been experiencing. But in August of 2022, the Missouri Supreme Court bucked the state’s solar-friendly trend in Johnson v. Springfield Solar 1, LLC, 648 S.W.3d 101 (Mo. 2022), unanimously finding the exemption for “solar energy systems not held for resale” under Section 137.100(10) unconstitutional. The case involved a small solar facility that supplied energy to Springfield, Missouri. The Missouri Supreme Court’s decision means that Springfield Solar 1, LLC could owe Greene County, Missouri more than $400,000 in back property taxes, and more generally, that developers who installed solar equipment in Missouri since 2013 will not be able to rely on the property tax exemption as they had anticipated under the tax code.

Confirming landowners’ signatory authority is crucial when preparing renewable energy leases or conducting due diligence in a renewable energy financing transaction. It is not enough to rely on a landowner’s word that he or she owns a proposed project area and has the right to encumber it with a renewable energy lease. While some leases include language certifying that the landowner executing the agreement has signatory authority, failing to properly confirm that authority can result in title issues, potentially requiring lease amendments or resulting in the denial of title insurance.

Perspective line of ocean wind mills with dark water and sky

In the wake of increasing inflation and as a means of codifying several of the Biden administration’s legislative priorities, the Senate passed the $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act on August 7, 2022 (the “Act”), by a 51-50 party-line vote. The Act, which is comprised of sweeping healthcare, energy, and tax measures, was approved by the House of Representatives on August 12, 2022, and signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022, creating a significant number of renewable energy sector benefits.