Which operators use ITC Intelligence

The math is clearest here. A $1M EWRS unit qualifies for a federal credit stack that, when executed properly, brings the effective cost to $632K. That's not a discount. It's cash at installation from tax equity buyers.

Section 48C covers 30% of qualified equipment capex. An energy community bonus adds another $100K where DOE designation applies. Both are available at the point of installation, not after the unit starts generating revenue.

On top of that, every barrel of produced water processed generates Section 45X credits on the battery-grade lithium carbonate output. Those credits don't stop. Every production run, every quarter, ongoing.

The 11-month ROI most operators model becomes a 7-month ROI at $632K effective cost. And that's before 45X starts compounding on the output side.

Most EWRS deployments qualify for all four. Run the numbers before you finalize your capital stack.

Section 45X was designed for this. Torque tubes at $2.28 per kilogram. Solar wafers, cells, and modules at defined statutory rates. Battery cell components. The credit applies to production, not just installation, so it generates cash on every production run.

The problem isn't eligibility. Most manufacturers who qualify already know they qualify. The problem is the certification process. Getting a credit transfer buyer to accept a 45X credit requires documented proof of manufacturing eligibility. That documentation has historically meant a bespoke legal memo from a top-tier firm: $200K to $500K, 60 to 90 days, one-time.

ITC Intelligence does the eligibility scoring upfront. We document the manufacturing process against the statutory standard, certify the per-unit credit amount, and generate a forward credit schedule based on your signed production contract. That output is what credit transfer buyers, insurance underwriters, and bridge lenders need to see.

For manufacturers with a signed production agreement, we can model the entire forward credit stream by quarter. That's a plannable financial asset before a single unit ships.

If you have a production contract and a manufacturing process that qualifies, the forward credit stream is already a financial asset. We help you access it.

The Smackover Formation alone has 500,000 barrels per day of produced water feedstock available. Operators working this formation are sitting on a lithium credit stream most of them have never modeled.

Section 45X applies to battery-grade lithium carbonate, regardless of the source. Produced water operators processing brine through an EWRS-type facility qualify for per-kilogram production credits on every pound of lithium carbonate they produce. The credit rate is defined by statute and doesn't require a DOE designation or energy community bonus to apply.

When you layer in the 48C equipment credit at installation and any applicable energy community bonus, the capital stack looks materially different than it did before the IRA passed in 2022. Most operators working produced water are still modeling on pre-IRA economics.

If you process produced water and recover any battery-grade minerals, there are credits in your forward production schedule that you probably haven't modeled.

DOE energy community designations exist for a reason: to direct capital toward communities affected by fossil fuel industry decline. Projects in these areas get bonus credits on top of whatever else they qualify for. Most developers know the designation exists. Not all of them have verified their site qualifies.

The energy community bonus applies on top of base 48C equipment credits. Brownfield site bonuses stack on top of that where the site has documented contamination history. These aren't separate programs with separate applications. They're multipliers on the base credit your project already qualifies for.

ITC Intelligence scores your site against the current DOE designation list, verifies energy community status from the source data, and documents the brownfield basis where applicable. The output is an eligibility report your CFO can hand to a tax equity investor.

Energy community bonuses frequently get missed because developers assume someone else checked. We check.