Monthly Archives: August 2022

August 24, 2022

A team of researchers,collectively known as the Community Orientation Action Research Team (COART), has been selected to provide research support during the first phase of the Wallace Foundations new five-year arts initiative focused on arts organizations of color.

The initiative was created as part of the foundations efforts to foster equitable improvements in the arts. At a Learning Community event hosted by the Wallace Foundation, Christina You-sun Park (left), assistant director for ASU's Studio for Creativity, Place and Equitable Communities, works with Elena Serrano, program director at Eastside Arts Alliance. Photo by Claire Holt

The COART team includes researchers fromArizona State University'sStudio for Creativity, Place, and Equitable Communities(otherwise known as the Studio), theEquity Centerat the University of Virginia and ASUsSchool of Social Transformation,

The team is led by Christina You-sun Park, assistant director of the Studio, Sherica Jones-Lewis, director of community research for the Equity Center, and Mako Fitts Ward, assistant professor in ASUs School of Social Transformation, with initial support from Ascala Sisk, former senior policy fellow at the Studio.

The organizations work and research are focused on a guiding question: Facing strategic challenges, how can and do arts organizations of color leverage their experience and histories of community orientation to increase their resilience, while sustaining their relevance?

ASU was awarded $948,000 for Phase 1 of the project, which is 18 months, with a possibility of being selected to continue to Phase 2. UVA's Equity Center will receive a subaward totaling $358,398 of the above Phase 1 funds.

The role of the ASU-UVA COART team is to work with the 18 nonprofit arts organizations receiving funding, which represent a diverse range of artistic disciplines, geographic locations and communities served.

Participating organizations are 1Hood Media; the Arab American National Museum; BlackStar; Chicago Sinfonietta; a collaborative comprising EastSide Arts Alliance, Black Cultural Zone and Artist As First Responder; Esperanza Peace and Justice Center; Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture; Museo de Arte Contemporneo de Puerto Rico; PHILADANCO! The Philadelphia Dance Company; Pillsbury House + Theatre; Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater; Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project; Ragamala Dance Company; Rebuild Foundation; Self Help Graphics & Art; Theater Mu; the Laundromat Project; and the Union for Contemporary Art.

Christina You-sun Park

Each organization will receive five years of funding to develop and pursue a project to address a strategic challenge. In the first phase of the initiative, COART will work with the arts organizations to develop a research plan that explores the relationship between community orientation, relevance and resilience through the grantee projects over the four years of implementation.

Phase 1 (of the Wallace Foundation initiative) is really a different method of working from how a lot of research is done, Park said. Were making sure to take the time and space needed to set up the research on the right foot, in collaboration with the grantee organizations. This intentional approach of building a strong foundation for the work is embedded within all of the Studios programming and research.

Founded in 2016 by Institute Professor Maria Rosario Jackson, who became the head of the National Endowment for the Arts earlier this year, ASUs Studio for Creativity, Place and Equitable Communities is an innovative collaboration between Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts and Watts College of Public Service and Community Solutions. The mission of the Studio is to advance the integration of arts, culture and design in community development, planning and related fields in order to help redress historic inequities and create healthy, equitable, more just communities where all people can thrive. The program portfolio also includes a faculty academy, senior policy fellows, creative placemaking curriculum integration, Projecting All Voices fellowships and the Creative Measurement Lab.

"The research (that) Park is leading, in collaboration with the partners of COART and with support from Wallace, is putting into action not only what the Studio has gleaned through other programing, but what we aspire to do: to change industry standards through our mission," said Chandra Crudup, interim director for the Studio.

Mako Fitts Ward

Traditionally, Park said, the research unit is separate from the arts organizations being granted funding.

But, she added, Wallace wants to ensure that the outcomes of the research are helpful to the organizations. So even the things were talking about, the debate around the terminology, for example instead of dictating that these are the terms that were going to research, were going to hear from the organizations themselves. This first phase is about careful intentional planning with the organizations, making sure the research is relevant and applicable to them and their communities.

Park said that the approach is rooted in an acknowledgment that current national research hasnt always benefited BIPOCBlack, Indigenous and people of color arts and culture organizations. Traditional data indicators for success, for example, dont represent the true impact of these organizations which calls for a reevaluation of what is considered success.

Park began working with the Studio in 2019. She earned her MFA in sculpture from ASUs School of Art, then worked for the city of Phoenixs Office of Arts and Culture, which is where she first encountered Jacksons work.

How arts and culture exist within communities has been an interest of mine for a long time, Park said. I got into creative placemaking through the way of reevaluating how we see metrics and really thinking about how structural inequities perpetuate issues for neighborhoods. I feel like the way I understood creative placemaking before I joined the Studio was very practitioner-based. The Studios programs have a different perspective on it, which is that in order for structural changes to take place, the burden cant be just on artists and designers. The institutions need to change as well.

Sherica Jones-Lewis

The Wallace Foundations goal is to identify field impacts through the sharing of the research, Ward said. However, for the arts organizations, the challenge is how do you participate in research on how your community engagement contributes to your organizational resilience without taking time and resources away from arts programming and other work? Our job, as the research team, is to create a collaborative process that doesnt overburden the organizations while also meeting the objectives of the funder, which are to identify best practices and blueprints for the arts field.

Ward said COART landed on the term transformative action research to describe their work.

There is a strong desire for equitable partnerships between universities, community and sometimes corporate partners, Ward said. But the emphasis in those areas is always the action and how the action leads to change, with the emphasis on change. While the change is important, its all about process. How do theories of action ultimately inform the ability for arts organizations to justify the impact they make and articulate their impact? How do you create a process that is truly generative and iterative from start to finish? We are trying to figure out how you can hold both.

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ASU team plays key role in $100M initiative to foster equitable improvement in the arts - ASU News Now

While Floyd Countys school buildings were not affected by flooding in eastern Kentucky, Superintendent Anna Shepherd (left) and other district and school staff mobilized to assist families and other school districts in need. Photo submitted by Anna Shepherd.

The foundation for great teamwork in eastern Kentucky following the catastrophic flooding and what I feel is at the heart of every successful team is open lines of communication.

Flood watches and warnings are commonplace in eastern Kentucky. Those who live in flood prone areas often take precautionary measures, just in case, such as moving their vehicle to higher ground and monitoring the rise of the creek. The flooding that occurred on July 28 came unbelievably quick, in the middle of the night, and was worse than had ever been experienced in most locals lifetimes.

Community members, many whose homes had never flooded, were woken up by the sound of water rushing into and sweeping away their homes. Some had to climb onto their rooftops to wait in the rain to be rescued the following morning.

I was at the Kentucky Association of School Administrators Conference in Louisville on the night the flood hit. Most of us woke up to text messages that next morning that included unimaginable photos of our devastated communities. I texted my staff and we immediately returned home to assess the situation and needs of staff and families.

Luckily, none of Floyd Countys schools were damaged. I called a district team meeting to check on staff, assess the situation and respond. Principals, Family Resource Youth Service Center (FRYSC) staff and others at the school level were already communicating, checking on one another and beginning to call and make their way to homes of students and families in their jurisdictions.

Together, we started tracking the needs in each area, deciding which schools needed to be open for hot meals, showers, as clothing centers, a place to rest, recharge batteries, brush teeth, pick up cleaning supplies and provide access to school counselors. Our schools have always been local hubs for our communities, but now they were serving as community centers.

Sign-up sheets were posted to staff schools seven-days-a-week and were quickly filled by employees who were eager to pitch in and help. School counselors and family resource directors were with displaced families from day one at the local community center and rode in boats to take food, books and activities to the state park for anyone staying at the lodge or campground. Taking care of one another is what we do best!

Floyd County Schools employees were eager to volunteer to help with recovery efforts following catastrophic flooding in eastern Kentucky. Photo submitted by Anna Shepherd.

Having strong lines of communication is important to me and being intentional about building these networks in my first year as superintendent set us up for success during this tragic time. Those who know me would say that I speak clearly, inquire curiously and share frequently. I was eager to hear what ideas staff had based on their situational awareness and the feedback they had gotten from families.

We had been operating our summer feeding program for those under age 18 before the flood and our nutrition director immediately worked to ensure that we could begin feeding adults in addition to children. He and members of a church also worked with Tyson to secure 45,000 pounds of meat that was provided to families with the help of volunteers.

As the water receded and people started to dig out, clean up and salvage what they could, we knew they wouldnt stop working to come to the schools for a meal. Some had even lost their vehicles, so we started taking food out to the areas that were hit hardest. Our cooks and bus drivers had prepared and delivered meals during the COVID-19 pandemic, so they were well-prepared. Food service teams prepared and served nearly 5,000 hot meals each day out of nine school cafeterias. Volunteer groups also helped deliver meals on ATVs.

I was moved by the dedication of our school groups who went to the community center to do activities with displaced children and our sports and academic teams from across the county who mobilized in the hardest hit regions to help shovel mud, muck homes and unload trucks of supplies that started arriving from all around the state. Hardin County, Russell Independent and others bought and donated gift cards to FRYSCs to help with the immediate needs of local families.

Connection drives collaboration, promotes knowledge sharing and builds trust. Our state and county elected officials, school board members, law enforcement, first responders and so many others have been instrumental in the relief efforts.

The local sheriff secured mobile washer and dryer units for our schools and Pikeville Independent, Johnson County and Lawrence County superintendents brought a truck load of detergent to donate for families to use on site. Save the Children, Trace Creek Construction and local co-ops like the Kentucky Educational Development Corporation have delivered items such as campers and pallets of water for families.

Supportive lines of communication also came from across counties with the support of the state, such as the weekly Superintendent Huddle, which was started by the Kentucky Department of Education following the tornado catastrophe in western Kentucky. Weekly check-ins to report whats going on and share how others can assist has been a huge windfall.

Eastern region superintendents also communicate, brainstorm and collaborate with one another often. Knott County will use one of our gyms for volleyball. We have offered to enroll students until other districts are able to open and receive them back. We also will be busing kids from the state park in Floyd County to county lines to help them get to and from schools in their neighboring home counties each day as needed.

Floyd County is offering surplus desks, devices, books, tables, etc. to districts that had schools damaged. We have sent a technology team to Letcher County and a maintenance team to Knott County to assist with their recovery. We know no borders and are glad to get to lend a helping hand to our neighbors. Our passion for students and families all across eastern Kentucky unites us all.

Floyd County school technology staff Jason King and Josh Paige helped organize incoming donations following floods in eastern Kentucky. The districts nutrition director, Dale Pack, and local church members worked with Tyson to secure 45,000 pounds of meat that was provided to families with the help of volunteers. Photo submitted by Anna Shepherd.

We decided to push the first day of school back two weeks in Floyd County so that staff could focus on working to serve families and help meet the basic needs of staff, students and families first. A good Samaritan provided a car for a custodian who had lost his in the flood and a board member provided a generous monetary donation to every displaced member of our staff on opening day. The county judge and magistrates worked hard to get roads repaired for bus travel and we started hearing from families that they looked forward to students spending their days in school so that adults could work through FEMA processes and focus on beginning to rebuild.

I know from my more than 30 years of experience in education that when students are in school, we are able to better meet their needs. Students receive two meals and a snack each day, there are nurses and counselors on site and a whole team of people who love and want to serve them.

All students were provided with a device, backpack, and school supplies this year. I saw the joy at open houses and on the first day of school with my own eyes. Students were overwhelmingly glad to be back and are not afraid to tell us what they need. One student shared that they didnt have a refrigerator at home and a donation was arranged and delivered to the family.

FRYSC directors will continue to meet needs washer and dryer units are still available, showers are still available, this is ongoing and they have met to begin planning for the long term needs of the community. Families will need basic household items, furniture, mattresses, bedding, towels, and our staff is working with churches and others to get donations. We are grateful to groups like Samaritans Feet, who continue to show up to distribute shoes and other needed items. As we rebuild, my door is open to ideas, partnerships and opportunities for collaboration.

Our county and region are united in the effort to rebuild and move forward together. Teamwork and continuous communication remain essential in our ability to move mountains for students and families.

Anna Shepherd has been superintendent of Floyd County Schools since 2021.

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Floyd County Superintendent: Communication and teamwork key to recovery in eastern Kentucky - Kentucky Teacher

On Aug. 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA), which includes new and revised tax incentives for clean energy projects. The IRA extends and significantly modifies the federal tax credits available for wind energy projects. This alert provides a summary for the wind industry. Additional alerts will provide summaries of the IRA focused on other clean energy technologies.

Prior Law Production Tax Credit Phased Out for Wind Projects

Before the enactment of the IRA, the Section 45 production tax credit (PTC) for wind projects was available only to facilities that began construction before Jan. 1, 2022. The PTC rate for wind projects was subject to the phased reductions summarized below:

Extension of PTC for Wind Projects

The IRA extends the Section 45 PTC to wind projects that begin construction before the end of 2024. This three-year extension to the PTC for wind projects comes with other qualification requirements not previously included under Section 45. The wind industry will need to adapt and accommodate these new PTC qualification requirements. The PTC for wind projects is further extended through at least 2033 under a new Section 45Y (discussed below).

Restoration of 100% PTC for Wind Projects

The IRA eliminates the PTC phaseout for any wind project placed in service after Dec. 31, 2021; however, the current PTC phaseout would continue to apply for any wind project placed in service before Jan. 1, 2022. Accordingly, wind projects placed in service after Dec. 31, 2021, are eligible to receive tax credits at full value, rather than the reduced values under the old law.

The PTC extension comes at a price. The IRA introduces new prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements (discussed below) that must be satisfied to qualify for the full PTC for projects placed in service after Dec. 31, 2021. This is done by establishing a PTC base rate of 0.3 cents per kWh (adjusted annually for inflation after 1992) and then providing a 5x multiplier for those projects that satisfy the new prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. The result is a restoration of the 100% PTC for projects that satisfy the new wage and labor rules and a 20% PTC for projects that do not satisfy these new wage and labor rules.

New Section 45Y Extends PTC Through at Least 2033

The IRA introduces a new Section 45Y that replaces the traditional Section 45 for projects placed in service during 2025 or later. Section 45Y mimics old Section 45 except for one key difference. Section 45Y is technology-neutral and allows 10 years of PTCs for any electric generation facility with a zero or less greenhouse emissions rate.

Section 45Y includes the new prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements to qualify for the full PTC (discussed below); otherwise, only a 20% PTC will be available. The two separate 10% credit adders discussed below for projects that satisfy the domestic-content requirement or are constructed in an energy community also apply under Section 45Y. The adder for projects built in low-income communities (discussed below) also apply, but those must be projects that are less than 5 MW.

The IRS eventually will publish emission rates for technologies so taxpayers can determine if their projects qualify for the PTC under new Section 45Y.

The PTC under 45Y is phased out after 2033. The phaseout is triggered when greenhouse gas emissions from the electric generation industry are reduced by at least 75% of the annual 2022 emission rate. Facilities that begin construction in the second year following the later of 2032 or the year the 75% emission reduction target is met, will qualify for a 75% PTC. A 50% PTC applies to projects that begin construction in the third year following the trigger of the phaseout, and no PTCs are allowed for projects beginning construction in the fourth calendar year or later.

Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Requirements

To qualify for the 100% PTC, a wind project must satisfy the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements for all laborers and mechanics employed by the taxpayer or for any contractor or subcontractor in the construction, alteration or repair of the facility. If these requirements are not met, the wind project would be eligible only for the base rate (i.e., 20% PTC).

Specifically, a taxpayer must (1) pay prevailing wages at the local rate (as most recently determined by the secretary of labor, in accordance with Subchapter IV of Chapter 31 of Title 40 of the United States Code) for the construction of the facility and any repair or alteration of the facility during the entire 10-year PTC period, and (2) ensure that no less than the applicable percentage of total labor hours is performed by qualified apprentices. For purposes of the apprenticeship requirement, the applicable percentage is (i) 10% for projects that begin construction in 2022, (ii) 12.5% for projects that begin construction in 2023, and (iii) 15% for projects that begin construction in 2024 or later.

Section 45 does contain mechanics for correcting failures to comply with these new wage and labor rules, so the 100% PTC can be preserved. These corrective measures include payments to the laborer for the difference between the prevailing wage and the wage paid, plus interest, and a $5,000 per-laborer penalty to be paid to the IRS. The penalty is increased to $10,000 per laborer if the failure was an intentional disregard of the new rules. Failure to employ apprenticeship laborers has similar corrective provisions, including a $50 per-labor-hour penalty paid to the IRS, or $500 per-labor-hour penalty if the failure was an intentional disregard.

Notable Exceptions to Wage and Labor Requirements

There are two notable exceptions to the prevailing wage and apprentice labor requirements, thus allowing these projects to qualify for the 100% PTC regardless:

The apprenticeship labor requirements have a good-faith exemption that applies if the taxpayer requests qualified apprentices from a registered apprenticeship program and the request is denied or goes without response for more than five business days.

A key matter for the new PTC will be when a project begins construction for purposes of the prevailing wage and apprentice labor requirements. This could mean the difference between a 20% PTC and a 100% PTC. The wind industry should closely monitor the IRS publication of guidance on these new labor and wage requirements.

Refundable PTC for Tax-Exempt Entities

The PTC now is a refundable credit for tax-exempt entities, state and local governments, tribal governments, Alaska Native Corporations, the Tennessee Valley Authority and rural electric cooperatives. Projects that are 1 MW or larger must satisfy the domestic content requirements if they begin construction after 2023; otherwise, the refundable credit amount will be reduced by 10% for projects that begin construction in 2024 and by 15% for projects that begin construction in 2025. No refundable credit will be permitted for projects that begin construction in 2026 or later if they do not satisfy the domestic-content requirements.

An exception to the domestic-content requirement applies if those components are not produced in the United States in sufficient available quantities, or if the inclusion of domestic content would increase the overall project costs by more than 25 percent.

Wind projects owned by the tax-exempt entities described above and placed in service after 2022 can qualify for the refundable credit.

Wind projects owned by taxable entities are not eligible for a refundable PTC, but instead can take advantage of the new transferability rules (discussed below).

Direct Transfer of the Tax Credits

The IRA added a provision to permit project owners (other than tax-exempt entities) to make an election to transfer the PTC or the ITC to a third party. The amount the third party paid for the tax credit must be in cash, is not included in the gross income of the transferee and is not deductible to the transferor. An election to transfer the tax credits must be made on or before the due date for the tax return in the year the credits were determined, so credits that are carried forward cannot be later transferred. Also, once a credit is transferred, the credit cannot be further transferred by the transferee.

The election to transfer PTCs to a third party applies to credits determined after 2022, regardless of when the wind project was placed in service. This means operating wind farms with remaining years of PTC eligibility could take advantage of the PTC transfer rules for operating years 2023 and later.

These direct transfer rules likely will have a significant impact on wind project financing, as sponsors might elect to simply monetize the PTC each year rather than bringing in tax equity partners. The simplified transfer rules could avoid cumbersome governance and ongoing compliance matters that affect operating wind farms. However, the tax credit market may seek indemnities from sponsors and parent guaranties related to the tax credits original determination and qualification. This could have a separating effect in a tax credit market between creditworthy sponsors and the rest of the industry. Expect tax insurance to play a large role in the new tax credit transfer market.

10% PTC Adder for Wind Projects WithDomestic Content

A 10% PTC adder applies for wind projects placed in service after Dec. 31, 2022, that satisfy a new domestic-content requirement. To qualify for this new 10% bonus to the PTC for domestic content, the taxpayer must certify that any steel and iron, or any manufactured product that is a component of the facility, was produced in the United States.

For this purpose, construction material made primarily of steel or iron must be 100% produced in the United States. This does not apply to steel or iron used as components or subcomponents of other manufactured products. Manufactured products will be deemed to have been produced in the United States if not less than the adjusted percentage of the total costs of all such manufactured products is attributable to manufactured products (including components) that are mined, produced or manufactured in the United States.

The adjusted percentage is generally 40% for wind projects (or 20% in the case of offshore wind facilities).

10% PTC Adder for Wind Projects Located in Energy Communities

Another new 10% PTC adder is included for wind projects that are placed in service after Dec. 31, 2022, and located within an energy community.

An energy community is defined to include (i) a brownfield site; (ii) a census tract or any adjoining tract in which a coal mine closed after Dec. 31, 1999, or a coal-fired electric power plant was retired after Dec. 31, 2009; or (iii) a statistic area that has (or, at any time during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 1999, had) at least 0.17% direct employment or at least 25% local tax revenues related to the extraction, processing, transport or storage of coal, oil or natural gas, and currently has an unemployment rate at or above the national average.

Low-Income Communities

Certain qualified solar and wind facilities with a maximum output of less than 5 MW may be eligible for an additional credit if the facility received an allocation of environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation. Stand-alone energy storage is not eligible for this credit, but energy storage associated with wind and solar projects may be eligible.

Projects receiving an allocation of environmental justice solar and wind capacity limitation can receive an additional 10% credit if located in a low-income community or on Indian land, or an additional 20% credit if such project is part of a qualified low-income residential building project or qualified low-income economic benefit project.

Election Into the Investment Tax Credit

The ability to elect the investment tax credit (ITC) in lieu of the PTC was extended to wind projects that begin construction before the end of 2024; however, the current ITC phaseout would continue to apply for any wind project placed in service before Jan. 1, 2022.

The ITC has similar domestic content and energy community adders; however, those are not percentage increases like the PTC. Alternatively, the adders under Section 48 are 10% basis point increases to the tax credit; thus, projects with domestic content that are also located in energy communities could be eligible for a 50% ITC.

Finally, the IRA introduces a new ITC under Section 48E that is technology-neutral and mimics old Section 48 for projects placed in service after 2024. The ITC under Section 48E includes the prevailing wage and apprenticeship labor requirements to receive the full ITC; otherwise, only a 20% ITC will be available. Wind projects will be able to elect into the ITC under new Section 48E in lieu of the PTC under new Section 48Y if they were placed in service after Dec. 31, 2024, thus extending the ITC for wind projects through at least 2033.

Reduction for Tax-Exempt Bond Financing

The rules for reducing the PTC for projects utilizing tax-exempt or subsidized financing are modified. First, the reduction to the PTC now applies only to tax-exempt financing utilized by the project. Federal, state and local grants are no longer a reduction to the PTC. Second, the maximum reduction to the PTC decreases, from 50% to 15%, if tax-exempt financing is used to finance a wind project.

Begin-Construction Requirements

The IRA did not codify any of the IRS begin-construction requirements relating to the 5% expenditure test, the physical work test or the continuous efforts continuity requirement. Those will continue to apply to wind projects unless updated by the IRS separately in further notices. Given the long extension of the PTC and ITC through at least 2033, these begin-construction rules will not have much impact until closer to the PTC and ITC phaseout under new Sections 45Y and 48E; however, the begin-construction requirements will become important for determining when projects must comply with the new wage and labor rules.

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Inflation Reduction Act Extends and Modifies Tax Credits for Wind Projects - JD Supra