Brownwood News – A large solar power plant has been proposed for southwestern Brown County, near Brookesmith. The company that would construct and operate the plant is Intersect Power of San Francisco, California. The project would be constructed on approximately 3,000 acres, and would include:
*** Photovoltaic (PV) modules
*** DC-to-AC inverters
*** Medium and high-voltage electric cabling
*** Tracker racking system (mounting structures)
*** Project substation, which will include a high-voltage transformer, switchgear, transmission equipment, telecommunications and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) control equipment, and all necessary equipment needed to connect the project to the substation and subsequently to a transmission line not owned by the project
*** Operations and maintenance building including telecommunications and computing equipment
*** Meteorological equipment to measure solar irradiance and other weather conditions
*** Associated equipment to safely operate, maintain, and deliver electricity to the grid
The proposed solar plant would generate up to 300 mega-watts (AC) of electricity, enough to power up to 50,000 homes. The project would be solar only, no wind turbines.
The 3000 acres lie within the Brookesmith Independent School District. (see map above – Brookesmith ISD is in yellow, proposed solar farm area in black along the county line)
In July 2019 the BISD applied to the Texas Comptroller for a Chapter 313 Appraised Value Limitation. An appraised value limitation is an agreement between a taxpayer and a Texas school district in which the taxpayer proposes to build or install property, and create jobs meeting certain job and wage requirements, in exchange for a ten-year limitation on the taxpayer’s property value for school district maintenance and operations tax purposes. The appraisal limitation applies to the value of the equipment, not the land, and the limitation does not apply to taxes for debt service. Chapter 313 does not remove property from the tax rolls, it merely delays the time that the new investments go on to the tax rolls at full value.
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With the approval of the Chapter 313 application by the Comptroller’s office, the Brookesmith ISD Board of Trustees voted on January 29 to create a “Radian Reinvestment Zone” for the 3000 acres of the project. The reinvestment zone allows for the appraisal value limitation agreement between the District and IP Radian Solar LLC. IP Radian Solar is the entity of Intersect Power that would construct and operate the solar plant.
Chapter 313 law also requires the qualifying project to create, in this instance, at least ten new jobs, although the school board is allowed to waive the jobs requirement if it finds that the ten jobs is in excess of the industry standard for that particular type of facility. Solar power plants are not labor intensive, so the Brookesmith ISD did grant that waiver, lowering the job requirement to two permanent jobs. Solar projects of this size typically create between 300 and 500 jobs during the construction phase of the project.
Even with the appraisal limitation the Brookesmith ISD will see increased revenues from the solar plant. According to the 313 Agreement, BISD will receive $50,000 per year in supplemental payments over a 16-year period for a total of $800,000 from IP Radian. In addition, BISD would receive a one-time payment of approximately $2.3 million, to offset the loss of M & O (maintenance and operations) taxes resulting from the appraisal limitation agreement.
IP Radian plans a mixture of purchases and leases for the solar property. The land would be cleared of vegetation for the project, although they plan to plant grass and maintain the property to prevent bare ground.
IP Radian has not applied to the County for a Chapter 312 tax abatement. Brown County Judge Paul Lilly said that if they do apply for tax abatement, he would hear their request with an open mind, but would have some reservations because he has previously told other parties “no” on abatement requests. He said that while he is empathetic with the needs of the Brookesmith ISD, “I have to treat them the same as I do the other 900 square miles of Brown County. I have only one vote on the Commissioners Court, but mine is the only vote that represents the entire county, rather than one precinct.” According to Lilly “If the entire project rests upon an abatement from the county, then the economic viability of the project is questionable, because our abatement would be so small.” Lilly did say that of all the entities that might ask for an abatement, “the least objectionable is the solar power farm because it is the least intrusive from construction through to the end of the project.”
The 3000-acre reinvestment zone lies with Brown County Precinct #1, represented by Commissioner Gary Worley. Commissioner Worley said he has no opinion on the project, unless and until IP Radian Solar requests a tax abatement from the Commissioners Court. At that time he would consider the request with an open mind, looking at both the pros and cons of a tax abatement.
Brookesmith ISD Superintendent Steve Mickelson said that he hopes the project does go through, because the financial benefits to the BISD would be considerable. The Texas Education Agency threatened to close the Brookesmith ISD in 2016 due to low enrollment, poor academic scores, and weak financial position. Now in his fourth year in Brookesmith, Mickelson said that the District has improved in all three areas: (1) enrollment is up approximately 50%, now over 140; (2) BISD received a B+ score from the state in the most recent academic rating; and (3) the District fund balance has been increased considerably. Mickelson pointed out that while the fund balance is much improved, it is still not where it needs to be, and the solar power project would help tremendously.
If IP Radian Solar commits to the project, construction is anticipated to begin in early 2021 with anticipated project completion by mid-2022.
(story by Mike Blagg)