Common Themes and Issues Seen in Concept Papers Submitted in § 48C(e)

Common Themes and Issues Seen in Concept Papers Submitted in § 48C(e)

Background

The Department of Energy (DOE), on behalf of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), received a large

number of meritorious concept paper submissions for Round 2 of the § 48C(e) Qualifying Advanced

Energy Property Credit Allocation Program (Program). While many concept papers described meritorious

and eligible projects, and DOE encouraged many of the applicants submitting those concept papers to

submit § 48C(e) applications, DOE observed common issues, areas frequently needing improvement,

frequent eligibility issues, and other themes during its review of the Round 2 concept papers. This

document, which builds upon observations documented following Round 1 concept paper submissions,

48C Application Round 1 Best Practices (energy.gov) highlights common themes and issues meant to

assist potential applicants with understanding why DOE may have discouraged them from submitting §

48C(e) applications. The document also aims to enable all potential applicants to address common issues

and to ensure the best quality applications that comply with § 48C requirements and applicable guidance.

This document does not address specific projects.

This document is not a comprehensive guide for the Program, and applicants are reminded to read IRS

Notice 2024-36, including Appendices A & B for guidance regarding the Program and its application

process. Additionally, DOE and IRS published answers to applicants’ questions, which can be found at

Qualifying Advanced Energy Project Credit (48C) Program and Frequently asked questions about the

Qualifying Advanced Energy Project (48C) Credit. Applicants are also reminded to see IRS Notice 202436 Appendix A for a comprehensive list of qualifying advanced energy projects; IRS Notice 2024-36

Appendix B, Section 2.3.3 for a list of priority areas for the Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling

category of the Program; and U.S. Department of Energy Releases 2023 Critical Materials Assessment to

Evaluate Supply Chain Security for Clean Energy Technologies for the list of critical materials eligible

under the Critical Materials project category in Round 2.

If your organization chooses to submit a § 48C(e) application, which you may do whether your

organization received a letter of encouragement or discouragement, DOE and IRS recommend that

you read through this document and IRS Notice 2024-36 (including Appendix A, portions of Appendix B

relating to § 48C(e) applications, and, as relevant, the list of eligible § 48C(e) Energy Community Census

Tracts in Appendix C) for issues that may apply to your submission. DOE and IRS highly recommend

that applicants pay close attention to the sections below which are organized thematically. Further, several

sections in this document correspond to the feedback bullet points provided in their letters of

encouragement or discouragement, which are noted with “*”. Potential applicants are encouraged to read

through this entire document for themes relevant to your concept paper submissions.

Glossary of Terms:

Specified Advanced Energy Property: A specific category of property listed in § 48C(c)(1)(A)

and described in further detail in Appendix A, Section 1.1. Clean Energy Manufacturing and

Recycling Projects under § 48C(e) must either produce or recycle one or more specified advanced

energy properties. For example, solar glass would be considered a specified advanced energy

property covered under Appendix A, Section 1.1(a). See IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix B,

Section 2.2 “Glossary of Terms”.

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Concept Paper Submission Process and Contents

1. 48C Portal submission process

For each project for which a taxpayer seeks an allocation of § 48C credits in Round 2, the

taxpayer must use the 48C Portal to submit to the IRS (1) a concept paper for DOE

consideration; and (2) a joint application for DOE recommendation and for IRS § 48C(e)

certification (§ 48C(e) application). We encourage applicants to read the 48C Portal Applicant

User Guide for help with the submission process on 48C Portal. If you require further

assistance, feel free to contact the Support Desk at 48CQuestions@hq.doe.gov or by calling

202-586-9786. Support Desk hours of operation are 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern, Monday through

Friday, excluding holidays. Emails received outside of those hours will be processed the

following business day.

2. Inconsistent or incomplete information submitted in the 48C Portal, Concept Paper, and/or

Data Sheet.

•

Some applications included inconsistent information in the 48C Portal, concept paper, and/or

datasheet. Common examples of inconsistent data include, but are not limited to, project

category, tax credit amount requested, energy community status, company name, and zip code

for the facility. When fields appear in multiple documents or forms, it is important that

applicants provide consistent information. In the § 48C(e) application stage, in case of any

discrepancy between the 48C Portal, application narrative, and the Excel data sheet,

information in the Excel data sheet will be considered as final and definitive by DOE

and IRS in their deliberations and notifications. (This will include important data fields

such as requested tax credit, energy community status, and facility zip code).

• Many applicants improperly formatted dollar values, often by using abbreviations or spelling

out units instead of using number formatting (e.g., writing out 26.4 million dollars). All dollar

values should be specified in numerals only (e.g., 26,400,000.00).

3. Lack of sufficient detail in one or more of the following documents that were required by

IRS Notice 2024-36: Concept Paper and/or Data Sheet provided by DOE.*

•

See IRS Notice 2024-36, Appendix B, Section 2.4 and concept paper templates and data

sheets available at 48C Portal for documents and information that were required for the

concept paper and § 48C(e) application submissions.

• For Round 2, there were several common areas where applicants did not provide sufficient

detail in their concept paper submissions. These include:

o Some project abstracts were found to be incomplete or provide limited information.

Abstracts should be complete and descriptive as this narrative plays an important role in

helping clearly communicate the nature of the project as well as its impact. In the § 48C(e)

application phase of Round 2, the abstract field will have a character limit of 6,000

characters (including spaces); applicants are encouraged to use most or all available space.

o For Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Projects, some applicants provided little

to no description of the project scope and product produced at the facility. Applicants

should clearly state the output(s) (i.e. product(s), component(s), etc.) that their facility will

produce. In some cases, applicants used vague or general terms or alluded to multiple

components being produced without specific details. For example, stating that the facility

will produce “electric grid components” is not sufficient detail. In this example, applicants

must specify exactly which types of grid components will be produced at the facility.

•

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Applicants submitting multiple applications for different projects did not always clearly

distinguish the projects from one another. In the § 48C(e) application, applicants should

ensure that projects are clearly differentiated and clearly explain the distinctions between

the projects (e.g., noting the differences, if any, of the specified advanced energy property

and/or facility product, if producing different components, different scale of production,

additional production, unique workforce and community engagement considerations, etc.).

4. Some applicants submitted concept papers when they had not yet determined the project

location and/or proposed multiple possible locations for one project.

o

•

There were applicants who, at the concept paper stage, were still determining the location of

their facility. Each application may only be for one facility (i.e., location). Please see prior

FAQs (for example, 48C FAQs - July 3, 2024; IRS website -Frequently Asked Questions) on

this topic. The location of the project facility must be finalized by submission of the § 48C(e)

application. This is especially important for applicants deciding whether to locate their

facility in a § 48C(e) energy community versus a non-energy community location. DOE will

consider whether the proposed project is located in a § 48C(e) energy community as part of

its determination as to whether to recommend a project for an allocation. This consideration

is necessary in order to ensure compliance with the statutory requirement that not greater than

$6 billion may be allocated to qualified investments which are not located within an energy

community census tract.

Project Eligibility and Selected Project Category

5. Failure to meet the criteria for an eligible qualifying advanced energy project, as described

in IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A, in the project category/topic selected, as demonstrated

in the project description or narrative by the applicant.*

•

•

If an applicant’s encourage or discourage notification cited eligibility concerns based on

their concept paper, applicants must address these concerns in their § 48C(e)

application. If the eligibility concerns are not clearly addressed, the project may be deemed

ineligible during review of the application.

Lack of clear description of proposed project: A project described in an application can

only be deemed eligible under § 48C(e) if it clearly describes the project activities included in

the qualified investment, including but not limited to:

o

o

o

The facility involved, and whether the project is re-equipping, expanding, or

establishing that facility. (In the case of an Industrial Decarbonization project, the

project may only re-equip an existing facility.)

The specific activities supported by the project’s qualified investment, including

procurements, installation of equipment, and other activities at the facility; what the

facility will produce, and what key inputs are needed for the manufacturing or

recycling process.

See IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix B, Section 2.5 “Stage 2, 48C(e) Application

Guidance” for detailed information on content requirements for the § 48C(e)

application for each project category, including information describing the proposed

project.

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6. Eligibility Concerns Related to Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Projects

(Notice 2024-36, Appendix A, Section 1.1)

•

Deployment of power generation facilities: Projects that construct or expand power

generation facilities are not eligible Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling projects

under IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A, Section 1.1(a) (“Property designed to be used to

produce energy from the sun, water, wind, geothermal deposits”) or Appendix A, Section

1.1(i) (“Other advanced energy property designed to reduce GHG emissions as may be

determined by the Secretary”). Instead, eligible manufacturing projects related to power

generation must re-equip, expand, or establish a facility that, after being placed in service,

will manufacture products (e.g., equipment or components) that can be installed in power

generation facilities. Eligible recycling projects must re-equip, expand, or establish a facility

that recycles those power generation products. While projects building or expanding power

generation facilities are not eligible under the 48C Program, they may be eligible for other tax

credits through the IRS or financial assistance programs at DOE, such as the Title 17 Clean

Energy Financing Program through DOE’s Loan Programs Office.

•

Deployment of facilities that produce fuels (such as biofuels or hydrogen), chemicals, or

other industrial feedstock products: Projects that re-equip, expand, or establish facilities

that produce fuels, chemicals, or other feedstock products are not eligible Clean Energy

Manufacturing and Recycling Projects, per IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A, Section 1.1(e)

(“Equipment designed to refine, electrolyze, or blend any fuel, chemical, or product which is

renewable, or low-carbon and low-emission”). Instead, eligible projects in this area must reequip, expand, or establish a facility that, after being placed in service, will manufacture or

recycle equipment that can be installed in other facilities to produce fuels, chemicals, or other

feedstock products. For example:

o A project that builds a biorefinery or hydrogen production facility, or that procures or

installs equipment for a biorefinery or hydrogen production facility, is not eligible as

a Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling project.

o A project whose proposed qualified investment includes the cost to produce, procure,

or install biorefinery components or electrolyzers, whether mass-produced or first-ofa-kind, is not eligible as a Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling project.

o A project that re-equips, establishes, or expands a facility which, after completion of

the project, will produce components or other equipment of a biorefinery, hydrogen

production facility, or other facility that produces qualifying fuels, chemicals, or

other products under IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A, Section 1.1(e) is eligible as a

Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling project.

While projects that build or expand production facilities for fuels or chemicals products are

not eligible under 48C(e) program, they may be eligible for other tax credits through the IRS

or financial assistance programs at DOE, such as the Title 17 Clean Energy Financing

Program through DOE’s Loan Programs Office.

•

Deployment of facilities that produce low-carbon fuels (such as biofuels or hydrogen).

Projects that re-equip, expand, or establish facilities that produce low-carbon fuels are not

eligible Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling Projects, per IRS Notice 2024-36

Appendix A, Section 1.1(i) (“Other advanced energy property designed to reduce greenhouse

gas emissions as may be determined by the Secretary.”). The expansion in the guidance to

include low carbon materials in Round 2 of the program does not include the production of

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low-carbon fuels. Eligible advanced energy properties in this lower carbon intensity energy

properties category include energy-intensive materials that have a substantially lower carbon

intensity when compared to an appropriate industry-specific benchmark. These materials

must not be derived from primary feedstocks such as palm fatty acid distillates or fossil fuels

including coal, natural gas, and petroleum.

•

Deployment of carbon capture, removal, use, or sequestration (CCUS) technologies

submitted under the Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling category: For projects

submitted under the Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling category, projects that

procure, produce, or install property (equipment or components) designed to capture, remove,

use, or sequester carbon oxide emissions are not eligible. Instead, eligible manufacturing

projects in this category must re-equip, expand, or establish a facility that, after being placed

in service, will manufacture or recycle equipment (e.g., equipment or components) designed

to capture, remove, use, or sequester carbon oxide emissions. The installation of CCUS

equipment at existing facilities may be eligible under the Industrial Decarbonization category

(see IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A, Section 1.2).

•

Uranium enrichment, conversion, and deconversion:

o Projects re-equipping, expanding, or establishing facilities that, once placed in

service, would manufacture equipment that could be used in facilities to enrich,

convert, or deconvert uranium are eligible under the Clean Energy Manufacturing

and Recycling category. However, projects re-equipping, expanding, or establishing

facilities that would themselves be used in the enrichment, conversion, or

deconversion of uranium are not eligible. Similarly, projects that procure or

manufacture equipment that would be used in the enrichment, conversion, or

deconversion of uranium are not eligible. See IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A,

Section 1.1(i).

o If applicants who submitted concept papers with uranium enrichment, conversion, or

deconversion projects described as ineligible above choose to submit § 48C(e)

applications, they are encouraged to limit the proposed activities to the eligible

activities described above in the Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling

Category.

7. Eligibility Concerns Related to Industrial Decarbonization Projects (Notice 2024-36,

Appendix A, Section 1.2),

Note that in Round 1, the Industrial Decarbonization Project category was referred to as “Greenhouse

Gas Emissions Reduction Projects.” The updated project category name in Round 2 is a change in

terminology only, and is designed to avoid confusion with the second technical review criterion. An

advanced energy project qualifies under this category if it involves retrofitting an industrial or

manufacturing facility, particularly in energy-intensive sectors such as cement, iron and steel,

aluminum, and chemicals. The retrofit must include the installation of equipment specifically

designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent.

•

Industrial Decarbonization projects that build new or expand existing facilities: Projects

proposed under the Industrial Decarbonization category must re-equip an existing industrial

or manufacturing facility with equipment designed to reduce GHG emissions, as described in

IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A, Section 1.2. Projects that include in their qualified

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investment the cost of building a new facility or expanding a facility’s production capacity

are not eligible in the Industrial Decarbonization category. Similarly, projects that propose

changes to the design of a new facility are also not eligible.

•

Industrial Decarbonization projects that propose energy-as-a-service models: As

described in the FAQ, the registration process for the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project

Credit (48C(e)) Program requires that an individual create and submit applications on behalf

of an organization (applicant) that owns, or will own, the property for which the tax credit

will be claimed. To be eligible to register and submit an application for an organization, the

individual must have authority to act on behalf of, and legally bind, the organization that

owns, or will own, the relevant property. The individual will be required to attest that they

have authority to legally bind the organization. Additionally, this individual will be

responsible for signing attestations for the organization, within the application, and will

receive all communications for the organization. See question 8 of FAQs posted on June 10,

2024. (48C FAQs - July 3, 2024)

8. Eligibility Concerns Related to Critical Materials Projects (Notice 2024-36, Appendix A,

Section 1.3)

•

Critical Materials Processing, Refining, and Recycling projects: Any activities equipping a

facility to drill, pump, or use other means to extract resources would be ineligible for

inclusion in a § 48C project’s qualified investment, as these activities occur upstream of

processing and refining. Subsequent steps in the process of producing the critical material,

such as physical refining (e.g., filtration, separation, and other techniques) and chemical or

thermal treatment, would be eligible for inclusion in the project’s qualified investment.

•

Uranium enrichment, conversion, and deconversion:

o Uranium is not listed in Final 2023 Critical Materials List as a critical material and

is not an eligible critical material under Critical Materials Projects (IRS Notice 202436, Appendix A, Section 1.3).

o For additional eligibility considerations, see “Uranium enrichment, conversion, and

deconversion” under “6. Eligibility Concerns Related to Clean Energy Manufacturing

and Recycling Projects” above.

9. Additional eligibility considerations

•

Research and Development Facilities: Facilities or portions of facilities that conduct research

and development are not eligible under § 48C. Facilities that manufacture eligible property

and, in doing so, are also used for research and development purposes, may be eligible under

§ 48C, but the application must demonstrate that the facility built, re-equipped, or expanded

is a § 48C Facility as defined under IRS Notice 2024-36. Applications will be evaluated

according to the criteria in IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix B, Section 2.7.1, which are

intended for facilities that produce or recycle specified advanced energy property under the

Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling project category.

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10. The described project may more appropriately align with a different project category than

the submitted project category.*

(Note: In this context, “project category” refers to the 3 eligible § 48C project categories: Clean Energy

Manufacturing and Recycling, Critical Materials, and Industrial Decarbonization. Categories in this

context do NOT refer to other groupings such as the specified advanced energy property.)

•

•

•

Some concept papers were submitted in a project category where the projects could be

ineligible. For example:

o A project that retrofits an existing industrial facility to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG)

emissions would be considered ineligible if submitted under the Clean Energy

Manufacturing and Recycling category, but eligible if submitted under the Industrial

Decarbonization project category.

o A project that refines or processes a critical material could be considered ineligible if

submitted under the Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling project category but

could be eligible if submitted under the Critical Materials project category.

o A project that retrofits or establishes a new facility to produce low carbon materials

could be considered ineligible if submitted under the Industrial Decarbonization

project category but could be eligible if submitted under the Clean Energy

Manufacturing and Recycling project category.

o It is applicant’s responsibility to differentiate § 48C qualified investment and project

scope eligibility if it is considered as part of larger project.

For purposes of technical review of Round 2 concept papers, DOE considered the project in a

more appropriate category, as stated in the encouragement or discouragement letter in the

48C Portal to provide feedback. For example, a low carbon material project submitted under

the Industrial Decarbonization project category was evaluated against other low carbon

material projects correctly submitted under the Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling

project category, and the applicant’s encourage or discourage letter indicated that their project

was likely submitted under the wrong project category. DOE will not adopt this practice in

the § 48C(e) application stage. Instead, each project will be considered in the category

chosen by the applicant, and its eligibility will be determined under that project

category.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to determine the most applicable qualifying advanced

energy project category, according to the guidance in Appendix B, section 2.8.2,

Determining an Application’s Project Category. Submissions by applicants must be eligible in

the § 48C category (the “topic” dropdown list in the 48C Portal) selected by the applicant. If

an applicant chooses to submit a § 48C(e) application, they may update the project category

in the 48C Portal. In the application stage, a project will be considered ineligible if it is

ineligible in the category selected by the applicant - even if the project may have been

eligible under a different § 48C project category.

The described project was determined to be ineligible under the project categories

considered.

• As stated above, if a project was submitted under the wrong category in the concept paper

stage, DOE evaluated it under a more appropriate category during the technical review

process to provide feedback (e.g., a low carbon material project submitted under the

Industrial Decarbonization project category was evaluated against other low carbon material

projects correctly submitted under the Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling project

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category). For these projects, if applicants also received feedback in their encourage or

discourage letter that the project was ineligible, the project was determined to be ineligible

under the new project category. That is, the project was not found to be eligible under any

project category.

Qualifying Investments

11. Proposed qualified investment appears to include costs not eligible for inclusion in a

qualified investment.*

•

See IRS Notice 2023-18 section 5.04, and discussion of qualified investment in IRS Notice

2023-44, including section 3.01 (“Section 48C Facility”) and Appendix A (“Qualifying

Advanced Energy Projects”). It is applicant’s responsibility to determine the qualified portion

of the project investment and the requested tax credit. IRS or DOE cannot provide tax advice

or guidance on determining the qualified investment.

•

Construction or expansion of a building: The qualified investment proposed by an

applicant, which may be a portion of an overall project carried out by the applicant, cannot

include the construction or expansion of a building or its structural components. Applicants

that included expenses for constructing or expanding buildings in their qualified investment

should remove such costs from the qualified investment in their § 48C(e) application. See

IRS Notice 2023-44, section 3.01(2) for more information.

•

Portion of facility used to produce or recycle eligible property (specified advanced

energy property): If only a portion of a facility will be used to produce or recycle eligible

property as described in IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A, then the qualified investment

proposed in the § 48C(e) application should only include costs for the portion of the facility

that will be used to produce or recycle eligible property.

Industrial Decarbonization projects that build new or expand existing facilities: Projects

proposed under the Industrial Decarbonization category must re-equip an existing industrial

or manufacturing facility with equipment designed to reduce GHG emissions, as described in

IRS Notice 2024-36 Appendix A, Section 1.2. The qualified investment proposed by a project

must therefore re-equip the industrial or manufacturing facility to reduce GHG emissions, and

investments to expand that facility (e.g., with additional manufacturing capacity), are not

eligible costs to include in the qualified investment. For concept papers that included such

ineligible costs, those ineligible costs must be removed from the qualified investment in the

Round 2 § 48C(e) application.

For projects related to manufacturing in offshore wind ports, typically, not all expenses

associated with infrastructure upgrades will be eligible to be considered part of the project’s

qualified investment. Applicants are encouraged to refer to § 48C guidance on qualified

investment eligibility, and to clearly differentiate between the work and expenditures that

comprise the qualified investment versus projects costs which are not being claimed as part of

the qualified investment.

•

•

Technical Review Criteria

12. It does not appear that the project will be permitted or placed in service within the required

timeframes.*

•

See IRS Notice 2023-44, section 5.03 and Appendix B(I)(e)(v).

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As described in IRS Notice 2023-44, section 5.03 and Appendix B(I)(e)(v), applicants who

receive an Allocation Letter for a credit must provide documentation to DOE within 2 years of

receiving the allocation demonstrating that they have received necessary permits and met other

requirements of the Program. After receiving a subsequent certification letter from the IRS,

applicants will have an additional 2 years to place the proposed facility in service and notify DOE

that the facility has been placed in service within the 2-year period. Applications demonstrating

evidence of timelines that would not meet these timeframe requirements are highly unlikely to

receive an allocation.

13. Applicant did not sufficiently demonstrate likelihood of commercial viability of a proposed

project. (Criterion 1: Commercial Viability)*

• See “Criterion 1: Commercial Viability” in IRS Notice 2024-36, Appendix B, Section 2.7.1

Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling projects and Critical Materials Projects;

Appendix B, Section 2.7.2 for Industrial Decarbonization projects.

• .

14. Applicant did not sufficiently demonstrate likelihood of net impact on avoiding or reducing

anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases of a proposed project. (Criterion 2:

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impacts)*

See “Criterion 2: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Impacts” in IRS Notice 2024-36, Appendix B,

Section 2.7.1 Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling projects and Critical Materials

Projects; Appendix B, Section 2.7.2 for Industrial Decarbonization projects.

15. Applicant did not sufficiently demonstrate likelihood of the proposed project’s ability to

strengthen U.S. supply chains and domestic manufacturing needed for a net-zero economy.

(Criterion 3: Strengthening U.S. Supply Chains and Domestic Manufacturing for a NetZero Economy)*

•

•

See “Criterion 3: Strengthening U.S. Supply Chains and Domestic Manufacturing for a NetZero Economy” in IRS Notice 2024-36, Appendix B, Section 2.7.1 Clean Energy

Manufacturing and Recycling projects and Critical Materials Projects; Appendix B, Section

2.7.2 for Industrial Decarbonization projects.

Components not specialized for an eligible clean energy product: Eligible components

proposed under the Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling category should generally be

specialized components required for eligible clean energy products. Non-specialized components

that are used broadly for products beyond those eligible under § 48C are likely to score low when

evaluated against the § 48C evaluation criteria in IRS Notice 2024-36. Lack of need for § 48C

credit: A concept paper may have scored low on the “Strengthening U.S. Supply Chains and

Domestic Manufacturing for a Net-Zero Economy” review criterion if it did not demonstrate that

a § 48C tax credit is needed for the project to move forward or would significantly expand

domestic manufacturing beyond what would occur without the credit. Applicants might consider

other programs that may provide support tailored to their projects, such as loans and loan

guarantees offered by DOE’s Loan Programs Office. If a § 48C tax credit is needed to move a

project forward in its proposed form, the applicant should work to demonstrate the need and to

explain the differential impact to manufacturing capacity that would be enabled by a § 48C tax

credit.

16. Applicant did not sufficiently demonstrate the workforce benefits and completed/proposed

community engagement of the proposed project. (Criterion 4: Workforce and Community

Engagement)*

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•

See “Criterion 4: Workforce and Community Engagement” in IRS Notice 2024-36, Appendix

B, Section 2.7.1 Clean Energy Manufacturing and Recycling projects and Critical Materials

Projects; Appendix B, Section 2.7.2 for Industrial Decarbonization projects.

•

As described in IRS Notice 2024-36, the Workforce and Community Engagement portion of

the submission should be specific to the applicant’s proposed project and provide more detail

about the project-specific activities than general company commitments to workforce and

community engagement.

•

As described in IRS Notice 2024-36, the Workforce and Community Engagement portion of

the submission should speak to how the project may be supporting transition opportunities for

displaced workers in coal, automotive, or other industrial sectors. This evaluation criterion is

relevant to all projects, not just projects located in § 48C(e) Energy Communities.

Additional Common Themes

17. Applicants submitted a concept paper for a project that received an allocation in Round 1 of

the 48C Program.

If an applicant applies in Round 2 for a project that is the same, similar, or related to a project

that received a 48C allocation in Round 1, they must communicate the distinction, if any,

between the two projects. Specifically, DOE asks that the applicant clearly differentiate the

two qualified investments and state the relationship, if any, between the two projects. A field

has been added to the § 48C(e) application data sheet, in the Project Overview tab (“48C

Round 1 allocation”), where applicants can provide this information. Applicants are also

encouraged to elaborate in their narrative application.

18. Specific considerations for projects located in § 48C(e) Energy Community Census Tracts

•

•

•

Applicants that indicated in their concept paper submission that their project is located in a §

48C(e) Energy Community Census Tract must confirm that their proposed project is located

in such a § 48C(e) Energy Community Census Tract using the resources described in

Question 5 at Frequently asked questions about the Qualifying Advanced Energy Project

(48C) Credit | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov). For a concept paper submission that

indicated its proposed project is located in a § 48C(e) Energy Community Census Tract, the

project location in the § 48C(e) application must be located in a confirmed § 48C(e) Energy

Community Census Tract to be considered for a Round 2 allocation.

Some applicants did not sufficiently address the workforce and community engagement

technical review criteria. Please refer to IRS Notice 2024-36, Appendix B Section 2.7 for

additional details.

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