North American solar manufacturer Heliene has completed the sale of Section 45X Advanced Manufacturing Production Tax Credits in association with Minnesota-based U.S. Bank.
The company is eligible for the tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for its three module manufacturing plants in Minnesota, which have a combined capacity of 1.3GW. Heliene began commercial operation at its most recent manufacturing plant earlier this month.
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“We’re very proud to have worked with U.S. Bank on our second 45X tax credit transfer deal,” said Heliene CEO Martin Pochtaruk. “In monetising these additional tax credits, we can maintain our commitment to building a stronger, domestic solar supply chain and grow our Minnesota workforce to meet the target of American energy dominance.”
While the company did not disclose the value of the tax credits sold, it noted that it builds on an earlier sale for US$50 million in tax credits, completed last September. Heliene has already announced ambitious plans to scale up its US-based manufacturing plants, with plans to build a 1GW cell production facility in the US, and tax credit transfer deals could be a key financing mechanism for realising these ambitions.
According to a report from Crux, 2024 was a record-breaking year for tax credit transfers in the US, with nearly US$30 billion worth of tax credits bought and sold, more than triple the value traded in 2023. Average deal size also increased, increasing by one cent year-on-year for Production Tax Credit deals, and 0.5 cents year-on-year for Investment Tax Credit deals.
‘Vote-a-rama’ over US tax reconciliation bill to begin
Despite the value of tax credit transfers to the US clean energy sector, the Republican party has sought to curb tax credits with the advancement of the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” through the US government. A so-called “vote-a-rama” on the tax reconciliation bill is expected to begin in the Senate today, after a full draft was published from the Senate over the weekend. A previous draft was described as a “stake in the heart” of US solar manufacturing by Democrat senator Ron Wyden.
The IRA’s tax credits, and the ability to transfer them, has been a key part of the recent US manufacturing Renaissance, which saw US annual module manufacturing capacity exceed 50GW in February this year. Federal support for new US manufacturing facilities has been thought essential to making such projects financially viable, particularly compared with the prospect of buying low-cost modules from overseas manufacturers such as China.
However, there remains some optimism that tax credits will be protected in the coming weeks. Today, US-based manufacturer T1 Energy said that it is optimistic tax credits will be protected, and that it “values the ongoing support in the current draft of the budget bill under consideration in the US Senate for the 45X Production Tax Credit, which encourages domestic production of solar modules and component pieces”.
“Solar energy strengthens our electric grids and lowers electricity prices for Americans and American businesses,” said T1 chairman of the board and CEO Daniel Barcelo. “Solar is not a problem. It’s an answer. And it needs to be made in America.”
The company secured a tax abatement package to support its construction of a 5GW cell manufacturing facility in Texas earlier this month, after it rebranded from Freyr Battery and shifted its focus to the US solar sector.
