On May 13, 2021, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) released a report that outlines the benefits of a transmission investment tax credit (ITC).[1] The report, titled “Investment Tax Credit for Regionally Significant Electricity Transmission Lines: A Description and Analysis,” was released during a webinar featuring Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM) and Representative Steven Horsford (D-NV). The transmission tax credit, which would provide tax incentives for transmission development, has been proposed by the senator and congressman in Congress and is included in the Biden administration’s American Jobs Plan.

According to the report, a targeted tax credit is necessary to incentivize the construction of necessary high-voltage transmission infrastructure. A transmission ITC would create upwards of 650,000 jobs, enable an additional 30,000 MW of renewable energy capacity, spur more than $15 billion in private capital investment in the near term, and provide $2.3 billion in energy cost savings for the lower 80% of income brackets. The report also argues that there is currently no other functioning means of funding critically needed large-scale regional and interregional transmission in the U.S. The authors said expanding transmission benefits domestic manufacturing, yields public health and environmental justice benefits, improves grid reliability and resilience, and generates carbon emissions reductions.

[1] https://acore.org/report-transmission-itc-would-create-650000-jobs-spur-15-3b-in-investment/