County amends abatement guidelines ahead of potential wind farm project

Attorney Jacob Lederle spoke to Stephens County Commissioners last Monday about changes which were made to the county’s tax abatement guidelines.
Lederle, an attorney with Wetsel, Carmichael, Allen and Lederle, of Sweetwater, was hired in April to review and negotiate Chapter 312 tax abatement agreements the county may enter into with any renewable energy companies.

Chapter 312 of the Texas Tax Code, the Property Redevelopment and Tax Abatement Act, allows governing bodies of cities, counties and special districts to exempt all or part of the taxable value of new investments for a period not to exceed 10 years. Chapter 312 does not apply to school districts, as they are covered by Chapter 313.

To be eligible for an abatement, a project must be a new facility or an expansion or modernization of an existing one. Only residential, commercial or industrial projects are eligible, while oil and gas development is not.

According to Lederle, the county’s guidelines were updated in order to begin negotiations with NextEra Energy Resources, a Florida-based energy company, on a potential wind farm project. He said this is the first step to allow applications for tax abatements to be accepted by the county.

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