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CFC Rejects Taxes Clause as Basis for Recovering Environmental Remediation Costs

Client Alert | 1 min read | 01.25.13

On January 13, the Court of Federal Claims in Shell Oil Co. v. U.S. held (1) the government was not liable for CERCLA environmental cleanup costs under the "Taxes" clause in certain World War II-era contracts; and (2) even if the "Taxes" clause had provided for indemnification, any indemnification rights were not preserved after contract termination. The "Taxes" clause and the absence of a reservation of rights to pursue indemnification in Shell is in contrast with the explicit "hold harmless" clauses in the facilities contracts cases in which the contractor reserved its rights to pursue indemnification (Ford and DuPont) and indemnification clauses authorized under Public Law 85-804, which contain explicit post-contract termination provisions.


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Client Alert | 3 min read | 10.15.25

Developers Adapt Timelines and Strategies for Wind and Solar Projects Following Recent IRS Guidance and Expected IRS Enforcement Activity

On August 15, 2025, the Treasury Department and IRS released updated guidance concerning Beginning of Construction requirements to qualify for clean energy tax credits. This new guidance is critical for developers to consider as they rush to qualify for the tax credits before they expire entirely. The much-anticipated guidance followed the July 7, 2025 Executive Order 14315, Ending Market Distorting Subsidies for Unreliable, Foreign-Controlled Energy Sources (“July 7, 2025 Executive Order”), which signaled that the Trump Administration was planning to strictly enforce the termination of production and investment tax credits for solar and wind facilities that are set to expire under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act), covered in more detail here. The new guidance comes at a time when many in the industry are struggling to keep up with the myriad ways that the new administration is working to roll back wind and solar tax credits, leaving developers to piece through the recent guidance to determine how best to structure and invest in clean energy projects given the volatile position of the current administration vis-a-vis wind and solar energy....

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