Crux

There was ‘energy’ behind distributed solar in 2025. Last year, distributed solar — including C&I and residential projects — represented a sizeable share of tax credit transfer activity. The sector saw some notable trends due to industry changes: ⚡ Community + C&I represented 11.4% of the solar + storage tax credit market in 2025, while residential solar represented 10.6%. ⚡ Pricing in the C&I segment was generally stable across nearly all deal-size tranches relative to 2024. Pricing trends represent differentials in market access. Premium C&I platforms owned by experienced developers retained market access and relatively consistent pricing throughout the year, whereas smaller or standalone C&I projects transacted slowly, if at all. ⚡ Residential solar experienced a particularly challenging year. Policy impacts and broader market disruptions materially reduced transaction activity, especially in 2H2025 — to the point where there was insufficient second-half data to establish updated pricing by deal size tranche. Limited deal volume underscores the impact of reduced market participation rather than a fundamental repricing of residential credits. Crux clients and partners have access to updated insights on the 1Q2026 market for distributed solar tax credits. Contact us to learn more about accessing our exclusive market updates: https://lnkd.in/ge2ZvAXJ

I’m excited to share the first episode of Critical Capital — a new podcast I’m hosting in collaboration with Latitude Media unpacking the markets, policy, and capital flows shaping the future of energy. We started this show because energy is one of the biggest untold stories of our generation. Energy and finance are converging. Digital demand is colliding with physical infrastructure. Yet very few conversations are connecting these dots. Our first guest is Aidan Madigan-Curtis. Aidan and I first met in business school and, since then, she has built deep expertise across technology and VC investing, now as a Partner at Eclipse. She also has a serious command of history and geopolitics that just makes any conversation with her so incredibly interesting. In this episode, we talk about why the next trillion-dollar company will be built on “both atoms and bits”. Aidan draws fascinating parallels between today’s moment in American energy and the Gilded Age, when industrial innovation and financing shifts converged to unlock enormous growth. We also discuss how moving forces in globalization and manufacturing going back to the 1980s impact AI and critical minerals at the center of strategic competition today. Listen on 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gcYkwwJu 🟢 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gAriRxyE 💻 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/g7v7ijGU 🔗 Web: https://lnkd.in/gT6bAxSU New episodes drop biweekly on Tuesdays. Huge shoutout to the entire Latitude team who helped bring this idea to life, including Stephen Lacey, Jenna Herzog, Anne Bailey, John Sheehan and Sean Marquand, and from Crux Emily Hughes and her rockstar team. https://lnkd.in/euXh2HUH

Everyone is talking about deglobalization, but is the pendulum about to swing back? Aidan Madigan-Curtis, Partner at Eclipse is an expert in this topic. She has spent 23 traveling to China, and recently helped close a $1.3B fund focused on physical AI. She believes that the next few years will bring a resurgence of global collaboration, not retreat from it. In the inaugural episode of "Critical Capital", Aidan joins host Alfred Johnson, CEO at Crux to discuss the intersection of digital and physical resource growth. It examines why the next generation of trillion-dollar companies will be built where atoms and bits connect, how China's industrial rise is reshaping the energy and manufacturing race, and what it actually takes to power the AI buildout when US energy infrastructure is already strained. It asks: who wins when the digital world runs headfirst into the physical one? Listen on  🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/gcYkwwJu 🟢 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gAriRxyE 💻 YouTube: https://lnkd.in/g7v7ijGU 🔗 Web: https://lnkd.in/gT6bAxSU

🗓️ Happening this week 🗓️ Join our expert panel featuring Brandon Hill, ESQ., CPA, tax principal at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), Norman Jones, attorney at Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A., and Charlotte Caldwell, market intelligence analyst at Crux, as they explore what tax credit buyers need to know before executing their first tax credit transaction. When purchasing these credits, knowing where to start and what to watch for can be the key difference between a smooth close and a stalled deal. On April 29th at 2:00pm ET, our live session will share the context mid-sized enterprise buyers need to know. You’ll walk away with:  - What Crux's latest market intelligence reveals about pricing trends, buyer adoption, and where mid-market opportunity - How tax credit purchases fit into corporate tax planning  - Key deal terms, common structuring pitfalls for first-time buyers, and how to run an efficient diligence process - Forward-looking market signals and what to expect for the rest of of 2026 🔗 https://lnkd.in/g7KmJdBz

We are proud to see Crux’s CEO and co-founder, Alfred Johnson, honored as a “Rising Star” at this year’s DC Climate Week. As Alfred mentioned in his remarks, DC Climate Week acts as connective tissue. “Events like this one are really crucial to get everybody who is thinking about how we can scale climate and clean energy infrastructure into the same place,” he said. For Crux, that means bringing together developers, investors, policymakers, legal teams, and more to finance more clean energy and critical infrastructure projects. We’re inspired by and honored to work with Alfred and other fantastic leaders to accomplish this work. Congratulations, Alfred! 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eNCc5xfA

We’re counting down the days — the Critical Capital podcast is almost here. The energy conversation has long been dominated by technology. What gets built, what scales, what wins. There is more to that story. The decisions that actually shape energy infrastructure — what gets funded, what gets permitted, what gets built — are made by people allocating capital, navigating policy, and managing risk in real time. That's the conversation we rarely hear. Starting next week, Critical Capital — a new podcast from Crux and Latitude Media — will feature conversations at the intersection of capital, policy, and infrastructure. In each episode, Crux CEO Alfred Johnson sits down with the people actively deploying capital and laying the foundation of the clean economy to unpack how progress actually happens. Subscribe on your favorite podcast network to get the first episode in your feed:  🍎 https://lnkd.in/gkQPkXK9  🟢 https://lnkd.in/gzWiVi8u 💻 https://lnkd.in/gBgZ32VK

In 2025, 27% of Fortune 1000 companies were active in the tax credit market — up nearly 80% year over year. That's not a blip. It's a structural shift in how large corporations approach tax planning. Crux's 2025 Buyer Benchmarking Report tracks what's driving that growth. A few key findings: → 𝗟𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲-𝗰𝗮𝗽 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 saw the steepest increase in participation (18% to 33%), but mid- and small-cap participation nearly doubled, too. → 𝗖𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗮𝘅 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝘀 reported effective tax rates 6–7 percentage points lower than non-participating peers (a $6–7M difference for companies with $100M in annual federal tax liability). → 𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴 through a year of significant policy uncertainty, signaling that buyers view this as a durable part of their capital strategy. The bottom line: the data says this market is maturing, with more participants, more sectors, and more conviction. Full report ➡️ https://lnkd.in/gVDPQknY

Since 2024, advanced manufacturing has grown from newly eligible technology to highly sought tax credit. Transaction volume for §45X advanced manufacturing production tax credits totaled approximately $9 billion in 2025. That said, we estimate that a significant volume of eligible §45X credits did not transact during the year due to price declines in the wake of the One Big Beautiful Bill. Manufacturers that needed to transact in 2025 often did so due to liquidity requirements; those who could afford to stayed on the sidelines. The result? An estimated $3–5 billion in advanced manufacturing tax credits deferred into the future. Those sellers are now coming back to the market in early 2026 with premium price expectations. The market for §45X tax credits is likely to tighten materially in 2026, and pricing may rebound above H1 2025 levels. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gn8aGf9M

"We see the ability to transform raw market data into usable insights as a major tool that allows attorneys to advise more strategically. When we can see broader trends in risk allocation, diligence expectations, and transaction timing, we are better positioned to structure deals thoughtfully and anticipate issues before they arise.” Amber Peterson, Shareholder at Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A., describes how technology helps to sharpen legal judgement, and how participation in programs like Crux Legal Select helps improve the efficiency of tax credit transfer deals. We're proud to partner with Winthrop & Weinstine and build alongside attorneys actively shaping how clean energy tax credit transactions get done. For more on Legal Select  and how we are working with teams to create the modern legal infrastructure for clean energy project finance: https://lnkd.in/grK9vX3G

When you're purchasing tax credits, knowing where to start and what to watch for can be the difference between a smooth close and a stalled deal. On April 29th at 2:00 PM ET, we're hosting a live session designed for corporate tax and finance teams. We’re sharing the context mid-market buyers need to know. Our expert panel features experts from key areas of the process: Brandon Hill, ESQ., CPA, tax principal at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen), Norman Jones, attorney at Winthrop & Weinstine, P.A., and Charlotte Caldwell, market intelligence analyst at Crux. Together, they’ll explore: - 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮-𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 on pricing trends and buyer activity from Crux's $55 billion transaction database.  - 𝗔 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 for evaluating tax credit purchases — including the structuring pitfalls to avoid. - 𝗔 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 of the diligence process so you know what to expect at every step. Head into this tax year confident in your 2026 strategy. Save your spot: https://lnkd.in/g7KmJdBz