The energy community bonus provides up to a 10 percent increase for production tax credits, or 10 percentage points for investment tax credits, on clean energy projects sited in designated energy communities. This official mapping tool shows where those areas are.
Two categories appear on the map. Coal and power plant communities are census tracts with a coal mine closure after 1999 or a coal-fired plant retirement after 2009, plus directly adjoining tracts. Statistical areas are metropolitan and non-metropolitan regions that meet a fossil fuel employment threshold of 0.17 percent or greater and have unemployment at or above the national average. Designations update annually as unemployment data refreshes. A third qualifying pathway, brownfield sites, is not displayed on the map but remains eligible.
How it gets used on a real project
This is a site selection input with real money attached. A 10 percentage point swing in ITC changes returns enough to move a marginal project, and because eligibility is geographic it is one of the few value levers you can still pull while choosing between parcels. Check it early. Note that statistical area designations can change year to year, so confirm the vintage that applies to your placed-in-service date with tax counsel rather than assuming today’s map holds.
To see where incentives like this fit into the full project lifecycle, explore our free renewable energy training.