The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the “Act”), passed by Congress on January 1, 2013, and expected to be quickly signed into law by the President, includes important extensions and changes to certain energy tax credit provisions. The major business-related changes are discussed below.

Under current law, the production tax credit (the “PTC”) provides taxpayers with a 2.2¢ per kilowatt hour tax credit for wind electricity produced for a 10 year period from a wind facility placed in service by the end of 2012, and from certain other qualified renewable energy facilities placed in service by the end of 2013. The Act extends the PTC to such facilities as long as construction of the facility begins before January 1, 2014.

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