Commissioners give tax abatement to Summit coal gasification plant
Ector County commissioners approved the Summit Texas Clean Energy project’s 10-year tax abatement at its Monday meeting.
“We’re getting ready to make this project happen,” Summit Director of Projects Laura Miller said as she addressed the court.
The 400-megawatt plant is designed to capture 90 percent of the carbon dioxide it produces. Summit plans to sell the CO2 for enhanced oil-recovery, which will help companies bring more oil out of the ground. The plant will also produce and sell electricity and fertilizer.
The court approved the tax abatement to cover 100 percent of the estimated $2.2 billion project, but the agreement still needs to be finalized and then brought before the commissioners’ court again for approval. The tax abatement is contingent upon the creation of 1,500 to 2,000 construction jobs and the creation of 150 full-time jobs after construction. The project expects to break ground by the end of this year and be operational by the end of 2014 or early 2015.
Language expected to be included in the final agreement includes making the tax abatement non-transferable in case Summit sells the plant before the 10 years are up. It will include a clause that would guarantee payment of property taxes to Ector County in the event of a transfer of ownership to a tax-exempt entity after the abatement expires. This language is to protect the county as a taxing entity after two power plant companies agreed to sell their Odessa plants to High Plains Development Corporation, a nonprofit corporation based in Lubbock that under current law is property tax exempt. Legislation to change this law was authored by Tryon Lewis, R-Odessa, and Kel Seliger, R-Amarillo, and is moving through the Texas Legislature.
The financing for the plant is expected to close in September, following the U.S. Department of Energy’s decision on whether to fund more than a quarter of the cost based on an environmental impact study.
Commissioners approved a 10-year tax abatement in May 2007 for the FutureGen project, which was planned for the same 600-acre site in Penwell. Summit became interested in the site after DOE chose another location in Illinois for FutureGen in December 2007.
Commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding with Summit at their April 25 meeting for the construction of a $300,000 access road from Farm-to-Market 866 to the plant site near Penwell.
In other business, the commissioners’ court authorized the bidding process to start for the construction of a road for the Parks Legado Town Center project. The county agreed to help construct the $1.8 million road for the project in late 2010. The county initially approved a policy for retail tax incentives, but decided helping pay for the road was a better option. The new retail site is within the city of Odessa and the city council agreed in 2010 to let developer Collin Sewell keep up to $7.9 million in sales and in property tax revenues.
Commissioners extended the burn ban an additional 30 days and approved an order banning certain fireworks in unincorporated areas of the county. The fireworks order bans “skyrockets with sticks” and “missiles with fins.” It does not prohibit small fireworks or large fireworks designed to primarily produce visible or audio effects.
COMMISSIONERS ALSO:
- Appointed Joe Barreraz as Rabies Control Authority for the county
- Accepted the resignation of Frank Deaderick from the Ector County Airport Advisory Board and appointing Paul Wagner to fill his term.
- Accepted donation of $10,000 from the Meteor Crater Friends.
- Rejected a seal coat contract to Jones Brothers for $943,024.
- Approved increasing the price of health insurance premiums for the Ector County Appraisal District from $930 a month to $1,000 a month.
- Approved selling the foreclosure property at 2505 Van Street for $3,000.
- Approved budget line transfers.
- Approved the Accounts Payable Fund Report.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the tax abatement agreement with Ector County would contain a sales prohibition to a tax-exempt entity. The OA regrets the error.
