STX Group secures transferable tax credits from solar project as organizations leverage opportunities under Inflation Reduction Act
- Transferability was designed by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to encourage corporate investment in the US energy transition by making it simpler for businesses to benefit from existing tax equity structures
- STX empowers US tax-paying corporates to boost after-tax profit through procurement of renewable energy tax credits
- Profits from renewable energy tax credit transactions can be used to finance sustainability strategy or other impactful (environmental) endeavors
NEW YORK (May 7, 2024) — STX Commodities LLC, the fully owned American subsidiary of STX Group, a leading global firm in environmental commodities trading and climate finance, has completed the purchase of transferable energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) from a Texas solar project. This transaction demonstrates the company’s dual role of a trading firm and an advisor for corporates strategizing and executing their energy transition and net zero strategies.
The IRA’s transferable tax credit program has unlocked a new avenue for corporations to access substantial tax savings previously only accessible to a handful of large financial institutions. Tax credits in clean energy projects, like solar, have long existed. Developers of clean energy projects, because they generally lack sufficient tax liabilities to take advance of the tax credits generated from the clean energy project, enter into complex and expensive tax equity structures with third party investors with tax exposure. Now, due to the IRA, a purchaser can buy the transferable tax credit to directly offset tax liability. After a successful first year, over its lifetime the program is now expected to generate over $600 billion in cash flows, significantly surpassing initial estimates as renewable energy developers accelerate new build, and corporate buyers capitalize on these lucrative incentives.
STX assists its corporate clients in designing and executing procurement strategies for a range of tax credits including solar, wind, renewable natural gas and several other project types recently made eligible under new legislation. As these transferable tax credits are purchased at a discount from their tax deduction value, corporations are saving millions of dollars on taxes payable and can invest these into climate action initiatives. This approach positions transferable energy tax credits as an important financing tool for corporations to achieve net-zero goals, aligning with global sustainability efforts and the transition to cleaner energy sources.
“We are excited to show corporates and project developers our ability to facilitate transactions in the fast-moving US tax credit space. It is in our nature to drive environmental finance innovation and unlock corporate climate action. The fact that we also procure tax credits for our own firm shows we believe in the financial effectiveness of this tool. Supporting corporates in tax credit procurement underlines our ambition to drive change in the American energy landscape and to maximize the impact of sustainable finance,” said Tim Pabst, Managing Director North America of STX.