Tax initiatives

Recent changes to the Canadian tax law which benefit renewable energy development received mixed reviews at last month's Canadian Wind Energy Association conference. The changes include "flow through" share financing -- included in a new Canadian Renewable and Conservation Expenses (CRCE) tax category -- to allow investors to write-off project development costs; and capital cost allowances for certain renewable energy equipment. The Canadian government now insists that the federal tax playing field encouraging the development of energy technologies is "nearly level," according to a recently released study. But this was disputed at the conference by renewable energy proponents. John Keating of Canadian Hydro Developers indicated that "CRCE is not yet enough" to support the fledgling renewable energy industry of Canada.