View source for Section 1603 grants

'''Section 1603''' of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act (ARRTA) was a green [[energy subsidy]] program created by Congress and signed into law as a part of the [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|2009 stimulus package]]. The program was a system of cash grants that was implemented by the U.S. Treasury Department's "Payments for Specified Energy Projects in Lieu of Tax Credits."<ref name=":0" />
== Purpose ==
{|class="wikitable floatright"  style="text-align: center; width: 230px; font-size: 0.9em;"
!colspan=3 |Electricity Generation from Solar
|-
!Year!!Energy ([[terawatt-hour|TWh]])!!% of Total
|-
|2004 || 2.6 || 0.01%
|-
|2005 || 3.7 || 0.02%
|-
|2006 || 5.0 || 0.03%
|-
|2007 || 6.8 || 0.03%
|-
|2008 || 11.4 || 0.06%
|-
|2009 || 19.3 || 0.10%
|-
|2010 || 31.4 || 0.15%
|-
|2011 || 60.6 || 0.27%
|-
|2012 || 96.7 || 0.43%
|-
|2013 || 134.5 || 0.58%
|-
|2014 || 185.9 || 0.79%
|-
|2015 || 253.0 || 1.05%
|-
| colspan=3 style="text-align: left; font-size: 0.85em; background-color: #f2f2f2;" |'''Source''': [[BP]]-Statistical Review of World Energy, 2016<ref>{{cite news
|url= http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/Energy-economics/statistical-review-2015/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2015-renewables-section.pdf#5
|title= BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2015, Renewables section
|publisher= [[BP]]
|date= June 2015 |accessdate= July 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url= http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/pdf/Energy-economics/statistical-review-2015/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2015-electricity-section.pdf#2
|title= BP Statistical Review of World Energy June 2015, Electricity section
|publisher= [[BP]]
|date= June 2015 |accessdate= July 7, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news
|url= http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/excel/energy-economics/statistical-review-2016/bp-statistical-review-of-world-energy-2016-workbook.xlsx
|title= BP Statistical Review of World Energy 2016 - data workbook
|publisher= [[BP]]
|date= June 2016 |accessdate= 2016-06-11}}</ref>
|}
The purpose of payments made from the Section 1603 program were to reimburse grant recipients for a portion of the cost they incurred to install certain types of energy systems at business locations. Payments were made after the energy systems were installed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/recovery/Pages/1603.aspx|title=1603 Program: Payments for Specified Energy Property in Lieu of Tax Credits|website=[[United States Department of the Treasury]]|access-date=2016-06-20}}</ref>
== Qualifying energy systems ==
The types of energy systems that qualified for the program were [[biomass]], combined heat and power, [[fuel cell]]s, [[Geothermal energy|geothermal]], [[Hydropower|incremental hydropower]], [[landfill gas]], marine hydrokinetic, [[Gas turbine|microturbine]], [[municipal solid waste]], [[Solar power|solar]] and [[Wind power|wind]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/recovery/Documents/STATUS%20OVERVIEW.pdf|title=Overview and Status Update of the §1603 Program|last=|first=|date=2016-05-05|website=[[United States Department of the Treasury]]|publisher=[[United States Department of the Treasury]]|access-date=2016-06-20}}</ref>
== Funding and status ==
As of April 2016, the program funded 104,733 projects. Total cumulative funding for the program stood at $24.9 billion.<ref name=":1" />{{efn|To view a table of showing funding, number of projects, and capacity in megawatts state-by-state, visit page 4 of [https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/recovery/Documents/STATUS%20OVERVIEW.pdf Treasury Department's Overview and Status Update of the §1603 Program].}}
The Treasury Department no longer accepts applications.<ref name=":0" /> The program started in 2009 and ended in 2012. However, Congress has continued to investigate the program as recently as June 2016.
== Congressional oversight and issues ==
Primary oversight activity over the program has occurred at the [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Finance Committee]]. On June 9, 2016, Chairman Senator [[Orrin Hatch]] requested from [[United States Department of the Treasury|Department of Treasury]], the [[Internal Revenue Service]] (IRS) and the [[Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration]] (TIGTA) details about how companies use Section 1603 grants and tax credits. In March 2016, Hatch asked the IRS and Treasury Department to demonstrate that the agencies use safeguards and coordinate with each other when reviewing applications for Section 1603 grants.<ref>Senator Orrin Hatch, U.S. Senate Finance Committee. Letter to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew; Letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen; and Letter to Inspector General J. Russell George. June 9, 2016.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/energy-environment/283747-sen-hatch-pressures-feds-for-answers-on-stimulus/|title=Sen. Hatch pressures feds for answers on stimulus program for green energy|last=Jordan|first=Chuck|date=2016-06-17|website=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|access-date=2016-06-20}}</ref>
In 2013, an investigation by TIGTA found that the IRS did not have a system to track the accounts of taxpayers receiving Section 1603 grants. As a consequence, grant recipients could amend back tax returns to claim a tax credit in addition to receiving the grant.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dailyenergyinsider.com/policy-and-regulation/872-hatch-continues-green-energy-programs-inquiry/|title=Hatch continues green energy programs inquiry - Daily Energy Insider|date=2016-06-13|website=Daily Energy Insider|language=en-US|access-date=2016-06-20}}</ref>
== Notes ==
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==References==
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==External links==
* [https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/recovery/Documents/Section%201603%20Awards.xlsx List of awards] (automatically downloadable PDF)
* [https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/recovery/Documents/energy-terms-and-conditions.pdf Payments for Specified Energy Property In Lieu of Tax Credits under the American Recovery And Reinvestment Act Of 2009; Terms And Conditions] (U.S. Treasury Department)
[[Category:Energy policy of the United States]]