One person spoke out against granting tax abatements for two solar plant proposals in the county during a public hearing at the July 26 county commissioners meeting, but it was not enough to keep commissioners from voting to grant abatements to them.
The court granted the abatements to both the BT Jungman and Grandsolar projects.
The court also set another public hearing Aug. 23 for comments on the Ben Milam 5 and Two Rivers Solar projects.
A mother with her two children standing with her told commissioners that projects won’t offer that much growth to the county and that if the county gives the green light to the project she might have to rethink her plan to rear her family and invest in Milam County.
County Judge Steve Young said he appreciated her comments and recognized that her concerns were real.
“I know these things are difficult and I tell everybody that comes in here that if I had a gold mine in one hand and a gold mine in the other, I would take the gold mine,” he said. “We don’t have that. What we do have is solar who has offered to come here.”
He told the audience that the county is bound to Chapter 312 of the Tax Code.
“So for the county, it boils down to a simple formula of two things,” he said.
“Will it create primary new jobs or will it create a substantial investment in the county that will bring about economic development,” he said. “In the case of all the solar that has come to the county, the answer is very simple: yes.”
The Ben Milam 5 is projected to be a $210,000,000 investment that would initially create 200 construction jobs and leave 1 permanent employee. If the project goes through it would begin construction in January of 2023, with the completion set for December of that year.
The Two Rivers Solar plan calls for a $193,000,000 investment, creating 200 construction jobs.
It would leave two permanent employees in the county.
Construction would begin in April 2023 and be complete the following April, should the plan become a reality.
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