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Working with Wipfli’s tribal energy advisory at the earliest stages of your project gives you greater support and guidance in maximizing your potential energy incentives. With a team including CPA tax professionals, tax attorneys, architects and engineers, we can examine all aspects of your energy project to help you maximize eligible costs.
We offer support for:
- Feasibility studies: Gain a clearer view of the scope and cost of your project.
- Estimating credits: Our engineers and tax professionals can help you estimate the minimum and maximum tax credits available.
- Identifying obstacles: We work with your team to identify potential hurdles impacting your credits, including tax-exempt financing, so that you can maintain regulatory compliance for tribal energy projects.
Wipfli’s team of architects and engineers can help you dissect costs and maximize the qualifying components of your energy project. We’re ready to provide regulatory assistance for tribal energy projects and help you prepare for certification with support including:
- Qualification and evaluation of costs for the investment tax credit (ITC).
- Technology-neutral ITC adders and the necessary support, including prevailing wage and apprenticeship, domestic content requirements, energy community requirements and low-income community requirements.
- Computation of the estimated value of credit, including any required reductions (if applicable).
- Preparing all the necessary tax forms to claim your credits.
Wipfli’s tribal energy project consulting brings extensive tax experience to help you prepare for tax credit filing with the IRS. In addition to navigating Form 990, we can support you in:
- Documentation and study form certification.
- Preparing the necessary tax forms.
- Navigating direct pay.
- Navigating the IRS pre-registration portal system.
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Manufacturing risk management: Key threats and action steps
The manufacturing industry is in the midst of a volatile period. Manufacturers must overcome risks like tariffs, supply chain disruptions, international macroeconomic pressures from the wars in Iran and Ukraine, AI growing pains and more — all while protecting profitability. Implementing an effective risk management strategy can help your manufacturing business navigate today’s risks. Keep reading to learn more, plus how to assess and mitigate your own top risks. Why risk management matters for manufacturers Manufacturing businesses are currently operating in a high-VUCA environment. The acronym, which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, describes many of the key pressures manufacturing CFOs and COOs face as they try to maintain smooth operations and combat shrinking margins. Risk management is a way to bring a little stability to that high-VUCA environment. There’s so much you can’t control — tariffs, international trade, wars, government policies — but by focusing on what you can do within your own four walls, you can still manage your risks enough to protect your value and operating income. This often starts with a mindset shift. If you’re willing to let go of your old ways of doing business and embrace changes like new technology or revamped processes, you’ll have taken a big first step towards making your business stronger and more adaptable. What are the major risks facing manufacturers? Manufacturers today face risks like supply chain concentration, workforce shortages and cybersecurity threats. Those risks are compounded by big-picture, geopolitical issues like tariffs and international conflicts, as well as the ongoing rise of AI. Top risks for manufacturers include: Tariff risks: Most U.S. imports are now tariffed at between 10-50% , raising materials costs for many manufacturers while also putting additional cost pressures on consumers. Geopolitical risks: The wars in Iran and Ukraine have strained supply chains and caused price spikes for oil and other essential commodities. Workforce risks: Manufacturing’s perennial labor problem hasn’t gotten any easier, with both worker shortages and high labor costs continuing to pressure businesses. Supply chain risks: Many manufacturers still put too many eggs in one basket, relying on overly concentrated supply chains with respect to both vendors and customers. AI risks: While AI can deliver significant benefits to manufacturers , the technology comes with major risks too , especially in areas like data privacy and shadow AI . Cybersecurity risks: Cybersecurity has increasingly gone from just an IT concern to a significant financial risk , as ransomware attacks or data breaches can lead to financial, operational and reputational harm. Shrinking margins: Rising costs on many fronts are cutting into margins, making it harder for manufacturers to get or stay profitable. Production risks: Depending on industry or process type, manufacturers also face production-specific risks around issues like safety and wasted open capacity. How to assess manufacturing risk Your manufacturing business may deal with many of the industrywide risks covered in this article, but it could also face others more specific to your region or niche within the industry. Conducting a manufacturing risk assessment can help you understand your unique risk environment and develop a strategy to mitigate it. Here’s a practical risk assessment framework for manufacturers (a risk advisory firm can help you work through it): 1. Identify and document risks Identify the risk areas and individual risks that could affect your business. This will likely include industrywide risks like tariffs or cybersecurity. Also consider factors more specific to your business, like a mission-critical employee who’s due to retire or production risks like food or chemical safety. 2. Assess the likelihood and impact of each risk Once you have a list of risks, assess each risk based on likelihood and impact. You can rate each of these factors using a scale of low, medium or high. 3. Prioritize risk based on likelihood and impact Prioritize your risks based on likelihood and impact, as well as your essential business objectives. For example, if supply chain disruptions are both high-likelihood and high-impact, that’s a risk you’ll want to tackle right away, while a low-likelihood, medium-impact risk will likely be much lower on your priorities list. Your C-suite should also discuss risk tolerance. 4. Identify existing controls and gaps Assess the controls, policies and procedures you already have in place to mitigate your high-priority risks. This will also help you identify control gaps that need to be filled, like a lack of AI governance or an ineffective system for tracking tariff costs. 5. Develop risk mitigation strategies Develop a risk management roadmap to tackle your top priority risks. This will typically include establishing new controls or policies to manage risk, as well as training, scenario planning and strategic steps like technology upgrades or inventory management changes. 6. Assign risk owners and accountability To ensure your risk management roadmap actually gets implemented, assign owners to each action step. Creating a system of accountability, like regular reporting at the C-suite or board level, can also help drive follow-through. 7. Monitor and assess risk regularly As you implement your risk management roadmap, continue to regularly monitor your risk environment and periodically reassess. Risks are constantly evolving, so your risk management strategy needs to be, too. How can manufacturers mitigate business risks? Implementing a risk management strategy can help manufacturing CFOs and COOs mitigate their top business risks. Depending on the results of your risk assessment, you may wish to consider strategies like: Work with a risk management advisor An advisory firm that works with manufacturers to manage risk and improve performance can help your business navigate today’s high-VUCA environment. Look to an advisor to conduct your risk assessment and help you implement internal controls, operational changes and strategic shifts to manage your risks. Strengthen supply chain resilience Diversify your supply chain to mitigate tariff and disruption risks. Start by mapping your supply chain and identifying possible alternatives for both sourcing and customers. You may also want to do a reshoring or nearshoring evaluation to determine if either could make sense for your business. Improve operational processes and controls Running your business more efficiently can help protect your margins from surging costs . One idea: Implement production monitoring to get a clearer sense of how your production is performing on a day-to-day basis (you’ll get a dashboard showing red or green status for your machines) so you can establish a baseline to improve on. You can also use AI to make predictive maintenance recommendations to reduce your risk of machine downtime. Strengthen your analytics The more data you have, the better you understand how your business is performing. This applies to not just production line performance but also areas like costs, pricing, inventory and organizational performance — all of which can help you identify inefficiencies and understand how what happens in your plant impacts profitability. Implement strong cybersecurity and AI controls You need effective controls for cybersecurity , data protection and AI. This typically includes establishing technology governance , implementing ongoing cybersecurity training and taking steps to make your business more cyber resilient . Improve financial forecasting and scenario planning CFOs should take advantage of AI’s analytical capabilities to do extensive financial forecasting and evaluate the impact of various scenarios. Forecasting and scenario planning can help you to both understand potential risk areas and decide which to prioritize in your risk roadmap. Regularly reassess risks and update controls and strategies Don’t assume today’s risks are the same as tomorrows. Make risk management an ongoing, living practice that includes periodic reassessments and updates to your controls and strategies. Stop putting off succession planning Succession planning isn’t just about who will own the company 10 years from now. Engaging in a thoughtful succession planning process makes your whole business more stable by ensuring continuity of knowledge after a long-time employee retires, passing sales relationships from one generation to the next and giving employees a path to move up in the business. Don’t ignore valuable tax opportunities Manufacturers can often offset margin pressures using tax incentives. Depending on the circumstances, these may include R&D tax credits , bonus depreciation or qualified production property , state-level incentives and even sunsetting energy efficiency deductions like 179D that could still apply to plant upgrades you’ve already made. Read More Can the qualified production property rule help your manufacturing firm reduce tax payments? Cybersecurity in manufacturing: Strategies to mitigate risk Manufacturing trends: What 456 leaders say about the industry today.
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Energy tax credits are not dead: Understanding the new reality for investment incentives
Following the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and changes to federal energy tax incentives, many building owners, developers, contractors and renewable energy investors were concerned that solar and wind tax credits expired on July 4, 2026. Their concerns are understandable but not entirely accurate. Federal Investment Tax Credits (ITCs) didn’t disappear overnight. Instead, Congress accelerated the phase-out timeline for certain technologies while preserving credits for projects that meet specific construction and timing requirements. Several renewable energy technologies remain eligible for credits well beyond 2026. How energy tax credits changed The OBBBA significantly modified the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit and Production Tax Credit established under the Inflation Reduction Act. For solar and wind projects, the law introduced a new beginning-of-construction deadline of July 4, 2026. Under the revised rules: Solar and wind projects that begin construction before July 4, 2026, can generally preserve eligibility for the federal tax credit. Solar and wind projects that begin construction after July 4, 2026, generally must be placed in service by December 31, 2027, to remain eligible. Projects that fail to meet these requirements may lose access to the federal ITC. July 4, 2026, was a critical deadline for establishing project eligibility through recognized IRS beginning-of-construction methods, but not a universal expiration date. How should contractors manage the new deadlines? Projects that meet the construction deadlines can still claim valuable federal incentives after 2026, subject to IRS continuity requirements. In many cases, developers are using safe harbor strategies, equipment procurement, or physical work tests to secure eligibility before the deadline. For developers with projects in planning, there may still be a substantial window to capture credits if the project is structured correctly. Credits continue for geothermal, energy storage, and other technologies Several technologies beyond solar and wind remain eligible for credits, including: Geothermal systems Stand-alone battery energy storage systems Fuel cells Combined heat and power systems Biogas projects Waste energy recovery property Certain thermal energy storage technologies For these technologies, the law generally provides a longer phase-out schedule that extends into the next decade. Projects beginning construction before 2034 can still qualify for the full credit, with gradual reductions after 2034. This is particularly significant for schools, healthcare systems, manufacturers, tribal organizations and commercial building owners considering geothermal heating and cooling systems. While much of the market has focused on solar and wind deadlines, geothermal projects may continue to qualify for significant federal incentives well into the next decade, making them an attractive option for organizations planning major capital improvements. The opportunity is shifting, not disappearing The market is transitioning from a period of abundant incentives to one that requires more planning and documentation. Organizations should also evaluate how tax credit monetization strategies, including transferability and applicable direct-pay opportunities, may affect overall project economics and financing. Successfully securing tax credits in the future will depend on: Early project evaluation Proper beginning-of-construction documentation Domestic content analysis Supply chain compliance reviews Tax credit modeling Prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance Strategic project timing The incentive landscape is becoming more technical, not necessarily less valuable. Organizations that wait until construction is complete to evaluate incentives may miss opportunities. Those that address tax credit requirements early in project development can often preserve significant financial benefits. Read more American energy dominance: Restoring certainty for energy policy Manufacturing CFOs: Do you know your business may already qualify for energy tax incentives? Clean electricity ITC updates: New bonus credits for low-income areas
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How to maximize tribal energy grants and tax credits
The Department of Energy’s Unleashing Tribal Energy Development grant provides opportunities for tribes to improve energy reliability and independence on their reservations. These grants offer the potential for significant windfalls for tribes. But there’s a catch many organizations overlook: Using the grants to pay for energy products could reduce the energy tax credits they receive. Keep reading to learn some strategies for using grant money on energy projects without increasing your tribes tax liability. What is the Unleashing Tribal Energy Development grant? DOE’s Office of Indian Energy created the $50 million Unleashing Tribal Energy Development grant to help tribal communities develop affordable, reliable and secure energy resources while advancing tribal sovereignty and economic development. Awards will range from $250,000 to $7.5 million, depending on project type. The funding supports three primary categories: Construction and installation of community-scale tribal energy projects. Predevelopment activities that move projects from concept to implementation-ready. Planning, assessment and feasibility work for larger-scale energy projects designed to create future economic development opportunities. Some examples of projects supported by this grant money include solar installations, battery storage, microgrids and geothermal systems. Energy tax credits available to tribes Federal clean energy incentives have dramatically expanded opportunities for tribal governments to save money. Tax credits your tribe could be eligible for include: Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit: This credit generally begins at 30% of qualified investment costs for eligible clean electricity projects, including solar, wind, geothermal, battery storage and certain microgrid equipment. Bonus credits may increase the total benefit when projects satisfy additional requirements. Certain qualifying solar and wind facilities located on tribal land or serving eligible low-income communities may qualify for additional investment credit percentages. Clean Electricity Production Tax Credit: Instead of claiming a credit based on project cost, qualifying projects may receive production-based credits for electricity generated during the first 10 years of operation. This can be especially valuable for larger facilities that produce electricity for tribal operations or for sale to utilities. How can using grant money reduce energy tax credits for tribes? Tax credits are generally tied to qualified project costs, and government grants can affect the final credit amount. For tribes using elective pay, grant funding does not automatically reduce the cost basis used to calculate an investment tax credit. If a grant is specifically restricted to buying or building the credit-eligible energy property, the credit may be reduced. The restricted grant funding plus the credit cannot exceed the property’s cost. A practical way to think about the limitation is: Maximum credit = Property cost - restricted grant funding Actual credit = Lesser of: 1. Property cost × credit percentage, or 2. Property cost - restricted grant funding For example, assume a tribe installs a $1 million solar energy system that qualifies for a 30% investment tax credit and uses a $500,000 grant restricted to that system. The credit calculated before applying the grant limitation is $300,000. Because the $500,000 grant plus the $300,000 credit equals $800,000, which does not exceed the $1 million project cost, the credit would not be reduced. On the other hand, if the same $1 million project received an $800,000 restricted grant, the 30% credit would initially be $300,000. Because the $800,000 grant plus the $300,000 credit would total $1.1 million, exceeding the project cost by $100,000, the credit would be reduced by $100,000, from $300,000 to $200,000. How can tribes use grant money without losing tax credits? Energy grant money can be used without jeopardizing tax credits. It just needs to be analyzed strategically. Unrestricted or non-property-specific grants generally avoid the restricted-tax-exempt-amount limitation. You determine whether it is restricted when the grant is awarded. Review the award terms, budget categories, application and grant agreement to determine whether funds are specifically restricted to credit property. Your tribe should consider directing grant dollars to eligible project costs that are less likely to drive tax credit value, such as planning, assessment, feasibility, predevelopment or other non-credit costs. Because Unleashing Tribal Energy Development funds may support a range of activities — from early-stage planning to construction and installation — the funding plan should identify which costs generate tax credits and, where possible, reserve non-grant funds for those costs. Four strategies to help preserve tax credit value when using grant funds: 1. Use grant funds for predevelopment and readiness activities Grant funds can be used to pay for engineering studies, feasibility assessments, site analyses, environmental reviews, grid modeling and other project-readiness tasks. Many of these activities do not have a tax credit. Using grant dollars for predevelopment may help your tribe preserve general funds for credit-eligible equipment and systems. 2. Use general funds for credit-eligible energy property Prioritize using your own funds or other non-grant sources to pay for the portions of the project that generate tax credits, such as solar panels, battery storage, microgrid controllers, geothermal equipment or other qualifying energy systems. This can help preserve the full eligible cost basis for the tax credit. 3. Separate the energy system from the surrounding project costs You may have projects that include both credit-eligible energy equipment and broader infrastructure or construction costs. Where permitted by the grant terms, grant funds may be better suited for non-credit or less credit-sensitive costs, while other funding sources may be reserved for credit-eligible energy property. For instance, a tribe might be building a new community facility that includes a solar system, battery storage and supporting site infrastructure. In this case, identify which costs are directly tied to the energy system and which are related to broader construction. Using grant money to cover the costs of building a structure to protect the solar system and general funds for the actual system could preserve the tax credit value. Your tribe will need to review what construction costs grant money can be applied to. 4. Document funding sources and project costs carefully Tribes should avoid treating the project as one large pool of costs. Instead, they should itemize costs to show: Which costs are grant-funded. Whether the grant funds are restricted or unrestricted. Which costs are paid by general funds or other sources. Which costs are included in the tax credit calculation. Which costs are excluded from the tax credit calculation. How the allocation aligns with grant requirements and tax rules. Whether bonus credits, prevailing wage, domestic content or beginning-of-construction requirements apply. This documentation is not just helpful for tax credit calculations. It can also support grant compliance, board reporting, audit readiness and long-term financial stewardship. What planning needs to be done to maximize grants and tax credits? A plan to protect tax incentives needs to be in place before signing contracts or finalizing the project budget. After payment decisions have already been made, it may be too late to avoid a reduction in the credit. When developing a strategy to leverage grant money and incentives, be sure all stakeholders are involved, including: Tribal leadership Finance and accounting teams Project engineers Construction partners Tax advisors Legal counsel These are the questions you need to answer when crafting a strategy: Which project costs are eligible under the grant? The tribe needs to understand what the grant can cover within the selected topic area. Which project costs are eligible for tax credits? The tribe should identify the specific assets or systems that generate ITC, PTC, bonus credit or other incentive value. Which funding source should pay for each cost category? The funding plan should be designed to preserve tax credit value where possible. Are there deadlines or beginning-of-construction requirements? Wind, solar, direct-pay filings, and bonus credit opportunities may require timely action and documentation. What documentation will be needed later? Tribes should collect contracts, invoices, proof of payment, cost allocations, engineering documents and other records throughout the project. Read more A new era of tax sovereignty: GWE and tribal corporation tax exemption rules Your tribal organization just implemented a new ERP. How do you maximize the success of your investment? Is it time to replace your legacy accounting system? 8 signs tribal CFOs should watch for.
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Tribal energy advisory FAQ
Wipfli takes a comprehensive approach to tribal energy advisory, with a multidisciplinary team of consultants who can fulfill roles including:
- Architects and engineers: Provide support at the earliest planning stages, maximize qualifying components and plan for the scope and costs of your project.
- CPA tax professionals and tax attorneys: Identify potential hurdles, prepare the necessary tax documents, prepare a final report and documentation, navigate direct pay and assist with the IRS pre-registration portal system.
Wipfli supports a wide range of credit and incentive opportunities, with focus areas including:
- Geothermal
- Battery storage
- Microgrids for tribes
- Investment tax credit
- Prevailing wage and apprenticeship
- Low-income community requirements
- Domestic content requirements
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See how Wipfli can help you implement risk management that supports compliance, productivity and long-term success.
