Please note: NRCan will publish technical guides specific to qualified natural gas energy equipment and emissions intensity validation and verification (Guidance under development). NRCan’s qualified natural gas energy equipment team can be contacted at itc_ce_naturalgaspower-cii_ep_electriciteaugaznaturel@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca
Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) is responsible for advising Finance Canada, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and taxpayers on engineering and scientific issues relating to the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit (CE ITC) for clean electricity property that meets the requirements of subsection 127.491(1) of the Income Tax Act.
Within NRCan, the responsibility for providing engineering and scientific advice for the CE ITC (other than for qualified natural gas energy equipment) rests with the Class 43.1 and 43.2 Secretariat. The Class 43.1 and 43.2 Secretariat draws upon the expertise of NRCan’s engineering and scientific professionals to provide expert advice in many different energy technology areas.
As stated in subsection 127.491(35) of the Income Tax Act, “for the purpose of determining whether a property is a clean electricity property, any technical guide published by the Department of Natural Resources, and as amended from time to time, is to apply conclusively with respect to engineering and scientific matters”.
Important notice: The content in these technical guides reflects the legislation as enacted on March 26, 2026 and will be updated from time to time.
The federal government can propose changes to certain provisions of the Income Tax Act and Income Tax Regulations related to the CE ITC.
Clean electricity property (except for qualified natural gas energy equipment)
Clean electricity property described in subsection 127.491(1) of the Income Tax Act includes some but not all prescribed energy conservation properties described in Class 43.1 and Class 43.2. Also, clean electricity property described in subsection 127.491(1) of the Income Tax Act includes some but not all clean technology property described in 127.45(1) of the Income Tax Act.
In addition, for some of these properties described in Class 43.1, Class 43.2 and subsection 127.45(1) of the Income Tax Act, there are additional requirements that must be met to be clean electricity property (for a description of the types of properties that are eligible to be included in Class 43.1 see the Technical Guide to Class 43.1 and 43.2). Furthermore, the portion of the capital cost of clean electricity property that is eligible for the CE ITC may differ from the amount that is eligible for inclusion in Class 43.1 (for example, costs associated with a preliminary work activity as defined under subsection of 127.491(1) of the Income Tax Act are not eligible to be included in capital cost for the purposes of the CE ITC).
There are different technical guides for each of clean electricity property, Class 43.1 and Class 43.2 and Canadian Renewable and Conservation Expenses. It is important that the appropriate technical guide be used for determining eligibility for a particular incentive.
The following series of technical guides has been developed by NRCan for each of the following categories of clean electricity property:
- Hydro-Electric Installations (under development)
- Photovoltaic Electrical Generation Equipment (under development)
- Wind Energy Conversion Systems (under development)
- Water-Current, Tidal or Wave Energy Equipment (under development)
- Geothermal Energy Equipment (under development)
- Electrical Energy Storage Equipment (under development)
- Pumped Hydroelectric Storage Equipment (under development)
- Concentrated Solar Energy Equipment (under development)
- Nuclear Energy Property (under development)
- Waste Biomass Electricity Generation Equipment (under development)
- Qualified Interprovincial Transmission Equipment (under development)
Certain terms used in the technical guides, including the terms that are defined in subsection 1104(13) of the Income Tax Regulations, subsections 127.45(1), 127.491(1) and 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, are summarized in the Glossary of Terms. Terms and excerpts from the Income Tax Act and the Income Tax Regulations are italicized.
Additional resources:
- Glossary of Terms (under development)
- Key to Symbols Used in Schematics (under development)
Contacting NRCan for technical guidance on clean electricity property (except for qualified natural gas energy equipment)
You may request general guidance or a formal written technical opinion from NRCan, as to whether equipment in a planned or completed project meets the engineering and scientific requirements of clean electricity property. This is a voluntary step and any technical opinion issued by NRCan to the taxpayer is not binding on the CRA, in determining eligibility and entitlements to the CE ITC, under 127.491(1) of the Income Tax Act.
Contact NRCan for technical guidance on clean electricity property