SECTION 3. DEFINITIONS

The following definitions apply for purposes of § 48A and this notice:

.01 Coal . Section 48A(c)(4) defines the term “coal” as meaning anthracite, bituminous coal, subbituminous coal, lignite, and peat. Coal includes waste coal (that is, usable material that is a byproduct of the previous processing of anthracite, bituminous coal, subbituminous coal, lignite, or peat). Examples of waste coal include fine coal of any of the listed ranks, coal of any of the listed ranks obtained from a refuse bank or slurry dam, anthracite culm, bituminous gob, and lignite waste.

.02 Total Nameplate Generating Ca- pacity .

(1) Except as provided in section 3.02(2) of this notice, the total nameplate generating capacity of a project under § 48A(e)(1)(C) is the aggregate of the numbers (in megawatts) stamped on the

nameplate of each generator to be used in the project.

(2) If the number stamped on the nameplate of a generator is not determined at the International Standard Organization (ISO) optimal conditions of 59 degrees Fahrenheit, 60 percent relative humidity, and 14.7 psia at sea level, the number stamped on the nameplate is disregarded and the generator’s capacity (in megawatts) determined at such optimal conditions is used in its place.

.03 Fuel Input . (1) In general . Section 48A(e)(1)(B) provides that the fuel input for the project, when completed, must be at least 75 percent coal. The term “fuel input” means, with respect to any type of fuel, the amount of such fuel used during normal plant operations. The amounts of the fuel used are measured (i) in British thermal units (Btus) on an energy input basis, and (ii) pursuant to applicable standards prescribed by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM). Thus, the requirement of § 48A(e)(1)(B) is satisfied if, after completion and during normal plant operations, coal provides at least 75-percent of the project’s fuel measured in Btus on an energy input basis and pursuant to applicable ASTM standards.

(2) Only normal plant operations taken into account . Only fuel used during normal plant operations is taken into account for purposes of § 48A and sections 5.02(5) and 5.02(14) of this notice. Normal plant operations are operations other than during periods of initial plant certification, plant startup, plant shutdown, integrated gasifier shutdown for gasification system maintenance, or interruption of the coal supply to the project resulting from an event of force majeure (including an act of God, war, strike, or other similar event beyond the control of the taxpayer). For example, the fuel input during the initial plant certification may consist entirely of natural gas or other non-coal fuels because fuel used during initial plant certification is disregarded in determining whether the 75 percent coal usage requirement of § 48A(e)(1)(B) is satisfied.

.04 Placed In Service . For purposes of § 48A, property is placed in service in the taxable year in which the property is placed in a condition or state of readiness and availability for a specifically assigned

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(9) By May 15, 2013, the Service will accept or reject the taxpayer’s application for § 48A certification and will notify the taxpayer, by letter, of its decision.

(10) If the taxpayer’s application for § 48A certification is accepted, the acceptance letter will state the amount of the credit allocated to the project. If a credit is allocated to a taxpayer’s project, the taxpayer will be required to execute a closing agreement in the form set forth in Appendix A to this notice. By July 15, 2013, the taxpayer must execute and return the closing agreement to the Service at the appropriate address listed in section 5.04 of this notice. The Service will execute and return the closing agreement to the taxpayer by September 16, 2013. The executed closing agreement applies only to the accepted taxpayer. The taxpayer must notify the Service within 90 days of the acquisition of the project by any other person (a successor in interest). A successor in interest that plans to claim the § 48A credit allocated to the project must request permission to execute a new closing agreement with the Service. If the request is granted, the new closing agreement must be executed no later than the due date (including extensions) of the successor in interest’s Federal income tax return for the taxable year in which the transfer occurs. If the successor in interest does not execute a new closing agreement, the following rules apply:

(a) In the case of an interest acquired at or before the time the qualifying advanced coal project is placed in service, any credit allocated to the project will be fully forfeited (and rules similar to the recapture rules of § 50(a) apply with respect to qualified progress expenditures); and

(b) In the case of an interest acquired after the qualifying advanced coal project is placed in service, the project ceases to be investment credit property and the recapture rules of § 50(a) (and similar rules with respect to qualified progress expenditures) apply.

(11) The site of the qualifying advanced coal project relating to a credit allocation may be changed only if the change is consistent with the objectives of the qualifying advanced coal project program, is requested by the taxpayer that received the credit allocation, and involves moving the project site to improve the potential to capture and sequester CO emissions, reduce 2

(4) A taxpayer that was allocated § 48A Phase I credits or § 48A Phase II credits for a project may submit an application for § 48A Phase III credits for the same project if the project meets the additional requirement for a qualifying project under the § 48A Phase III program that the project separate and sequester at least 70 percent of the project’s total CO 2 emissions.

(a) The § 48A Phase III credit will be allowed with respect to the taxpayer’s qualified investment in the project only to the extent such investment exceeds the qualified investment with respect to which the § 48A Phase I credit or § 48A Phase II credit was awarded.

(b) Section 48A Phase III credits allocated to a project will be forfeited if the taxpayer fails to satisfy the certification requirements in § 48A(e)(2) within two years from the date of acceptance of the application under this notice, or fails to place the project in service within 5 years of the date of issuance of the certification (as determined under section 6.03 of this notice). The allocation of the § 48A Phase III credits to a project does not delay the taxpayer’s certification and placed-in-service obligations with respect to any § 48A Phase I credits or § 48A Phase II credits previously allocated to the project. Accordingly, the § 48A Phase I credits or the § 48A Phase II credits allocated to the project will be forfeited if the taxpayer fails to satisfy the certification requirements within two years from the date of acceptance under the § 48A Phase I program or the § 48A Phase II program (whichever is applicable), or fails to place the project in service within 5 years of the date of issuance of the certification under the applicable program.

(5) For § 48A Phase III credits, DOE will rank the certified projects in descending order (that is, first, second, third, etc.) based on the Program Policy Factors specified in Appendix B, and allocate the credit as follows:

(a) If the requested allocation of credits for projects that DOE has certified does not exceed the amount available for allocation, each certified project will be allocated the full amount of credit requested.

(b) If the requested allocation of credits for projects that DOE has certified exceeds the amount available for allocation, the amount available for allocation will be allocated as follows:

(i) The project receiving the highest ranking (that is, first) will be allocated the full amount of credit requested (but not exceeding the amount available for allocation) before any credit is allocated to a lower-ranked project. The amount available for allocation is reduced by the amount of credit so allocated and only the remainder is available for allocation to a lower-ranked project.

(ii) Second and lower-ranked projects will be entitled to similar priority in the allocation of credits and allocations to such projects will similarly reduce the remainder of the amount available for allocation until the amount available for allocation is exhausted.

(6) For the 2012–2013 round under this notice, the application period for § 48A certification begins on August 13, 2012, and ends on February 15, 2013, and any completed application for § 48A certification received by the Service after August 12, 2012, and before February 16, 2013, will be deemed to be submitted by the taxpayer on February 15, 2013.

(7) For purposes of this notice, an application that is submitted by U.S. mail will be treated as received by the Service on the date of the postmark and an application submitted by a private delivery service will be treated as received by the Service on the date recorded or the date marked in accordance with § 7502(f)(2)(C).

(8) See section 5.02 of this notice and Appendix B to this notice for the information to be submitted to DOE in an application for DOE certification. Appendix B to this notice also provides the instructions and address for filing the application for DOE certification. DOE will determine the technical and economic feasibility of the project and, if the project is determined to be feasible, will provide a DOE certification for the project to the Service. If DOE certifies two or more projects, DOE also will rank each of the projects it certifies (for example, first, second, third, etc.) relative to other certified projects and credits will be allocated to projects based on DOE ranking. If an application for DOE certification is postmarked on or before October 15, 2012, DOE will determine the feasibility of the project and (for projects determined to be feasible) provide DOE certification and DOE ranking (if any) to the Service by February 15, 2013.

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costs of transporting feedstock, and serve a broader customer base. The Service will not agree to a project site change if the dollar amount of tax credits allocated to the taxpayer under § 48A would increase as a result of the site change or if the project would not have been originally certified had such modification been included in the taxpayer’s application. In considering such modification, the Service will consult with DOE and any other relevant Federal agency.

(12) The § 48A Phase III credit allocated to the project will be forfeited if the taxpayer fails to satisfy the certification requirements in § 48A(e)(2) within 2 years from the date of acceptance of the application under this notice, or fails to place the project in service within 5 years of the date of issuance of the certification (as determined under section 6.03 of the notice).

(13) The taxpayer must notify the Service by letter of the date the project is placed in service within 90 days of that date.