New: 3 Solar Energy Community Data Layers for Tax Credit Evaluation

Three New Solar Energy Community Data Layers

1. Fossil Fuel Employment: Identifies a county or group of counties that meet the Fossil Fuel Employment (FFE) threshold of 0.17% or greater local tax revenues related to the extraction, processing, transport, or storage of coal, oil, or natural gas. Only a subset of these MSAs and non-MSAs will qualify as energy communities, depending on their unemployment rate for the previous year. 
2. Coal Closure Energy Communities: Identifies properties with coal closure or coal-fired electric generating unit retirements since 2009. This data is organized by census tracts that directly adjoin a tract with a coal closure. By applying the Census Tract data to land searches, a developer can take into account coal closure proximity, which is important to note, as the closer a piece of land is to a closure, it becomes eligible for a tax credit.
3. MSA/Non-MSAs Energy Communities: Identifies MSAs or non-MSAs that meet both the Fossil Fuel Employment (FFE) threshold and the unemployment rate requirement. Using the MSA/non-MSA data, a developer can determine if the land they are evaluating has a local fossil fuel employment threshold of 0.17%, the criteria needed for a tax credit. 

Where to Find Solar Tax Credit Data Within Latapult

1. Sign into your Latapult profile.
2. Navigate to the “Energy” group.
3. Click “IRA” to view the data layers: (1) fossil fuel employment, (2) coal closure energy communities, and (3) MSA/Non-MSAs energy communities.
4. Toggle through each tract to provide additional information on the piece of land you are viewing.