Dive Brief
- Clean energy developers can sell their federal tax credits to companies that need them to reduce their tax bills, but developers are now generating credits faster than companies are buying them. That imbalance is giving buyers more bargaining power and putting pressure on sellers to compete for deals, Renewable Credit Management’s third quarter 2026 market report finds.
- Production tax credits are holding up, with solar and wind credits fetching 92 to 94.5 cents per $1 of credit. Buyers favor these credits over investment tax credits in part because they are easier to evaluate and carry less risk, according to RCM.
- Investment-based tax credits for solar, battery storage and biogas, calculated as a percentage of eligible project costs, are selling for 90 to 93 cents per $1, while technology-neutral ITCs are facing more price pressure as buyers weigh uncertainty over new federal rules. RCM reports those credits are currently selling for 88 to 91 cents per $1.
Dive Insight
The market for buying and selling investment tax credits is becoming a more important part of corporate tax planning as more companies look to use credits generated by clean energy projects to reduce their federal tax bills.
About one in four Fortune 1000 companies now participate as a buyer, according to Crux, a financial services company that facilitates deals. Financial services firms account for 45% of market volume, while energy and utility companies account for 34%.
Public filings rarely identify both the corporate buyer and type of tax credit, but Opal Fuels, the Nasdaq-listed renewable natural gas company, disclosed that Athene, a retirement solutions provider, bought ITCs tied to two of its projects. Athene bought an undisclosed portion of $17.4 million in credits from a Florida project last year; in March 2026, Athene and its reinsurance affiliate bought $22.9 million in credits from its subsidiary Land2Gas LLC, providing the seller $21.6 million in proceeds.
The market has shifted from the buyer-constrained conditions of 2023-24 to a supply-rich environment, according to RCM, with residential clean energy financing platforms increasingly selling credits to raise working capital.
Sunnova, formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was among the early residential solar finance companies to monetize transferable credits, reporting $207.4 million in ITC sales in 2023 and about $645.5 million in 2024. Residential solar alone was expected to generate roughly $6 billion in investment tax credits in 2025, according to Reunion Infrastructure. Final, audited figures for last year are still being officially tabulated.
Ethanol is expected to become the largest source of transferable clean fuel credits, adding to a broader influx from advanced manufacturing projects and putting pressure on prices at the low end of the market, where credits are currently clearing at 87 to 92 cents per $1.
Timothy Doran, a director at RCM, said a “limited pool of buying capacity,” partly reflecting changes to bonus depreciation and Section 174 expensing under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is also weighing on the market.
The growing supply is giving buyers more choice, making them more selective about projects and transactions that carry additional compliance risk. Buyers are also seeking protection against having to repay the value of a tax credit if the IRS later determines it does not qualify, RCM finds.
Developers increasingly are being asked to secure bank-backed indemnities rather than rely solely on commercial insurance, while some buyers are delaying transactions until they have greater clarity about whether credits from projects with potential foreign entity of concern, or FEOC, issues will qualify.
“ITC sellers are very anxiously awaiting regulations and additional guidance so that their credits can be insured, and the buyers can feel more comfortable purchasing,” Doran said. Pricing pressure is likely to continue for ITCs subject to FEOC requirements even after additional guidance is issued.
RCM expects the market to remain relatively stable through the end of 2026, with stronger demand for lower-risk credits helping support prices even as overall supply remains elevated. The firm said growing corporate participation signals a maturing market, even as the current supply-demand imbalance gives buyers more room to negotiate.
