Commissioners affirm Enbridge Solar Orange Grove tax-abatement; pilot payment estimate cited

The Jim Wells County Commissioners Court on July 10 adopted a resolution affirming that Enbridge Solar Orange Grove LLC (named in the record as the successor to Talitha Energy Project LLC) has complied with a previously approved tax-abatement agreement and is entitled to payment-in-lieu-of-taxes for the upcoming year, contingent on appraisal district confirmation.

County staff reported the project is constructed off Road 308 on about 900 acres and is operational. Staff said the appraisal district must verify that construction occurred within the designated reinvestment zone before the county judge signs the final paperwork. “Once they provide that to us, then it would be ready for the judge to sign off on,” staff told the court.

Staff gave an estimate for the first-year pilot payment of about $8,889,000 per year for 10 years; the record notes that this is the projected payment-in-lieu-of-taxes and that the county will not receive ad valorem tax revenue because the agreement provides a 100% abatement in exchange for the pilot payments.

A commissioner moved to approve the resolution; the motion was seconded and the court approved it by voice vote. The approval in the record is explicitly contingent on appraisal district confirmation of construction within the reinvestment zone.

Next steps: staff will await certification from the appraisal district and then the county judge will sign the resolution to enact the pilot payment structure for the coming tax year.