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Covington County resident urges commissioners to reject Orgis Energy tax abatement
Summary
At the March 25 Covington County Commission meeting, resident Blaine Wilson urged commissioners to deny a proposed tax abatement for Orgis Energy, citing past community opposition, a claimed series of fires at a Wing-area solar site and comments by an Orgis official. Commissioners took no formal action on the abatement because no motion was made.
Blaine Wilson, a Covington County resident, told commissioners at their March 25 meeting that they should reject any tax abatement for Orgis Energy, calling federal green-energy programs and related tax incentives a "scam." He spoke during the meeting's public-comment period.
Wilson quoted a statement he attributed to Johan Van Hee, identified in Wilson's remarks as "chief commercial and procurement officer for Orgis Energy," saying the company "did not have to have these tax abatements to be able to build a solar power facility" and that community opposition led Orgis to terminate a prior development. Wilson cited the Oak Ridge Baptist Church meeting on March 12, 2024, and an article he said appeared in the Andalusia Star-News on March 21, though he did not provide a copy of that publication to the commission during his remarks.
Wilson also said Orgis "maintains a solar farm in the Wing community," and asserted that the site had its "third fire last Friday," which he said required responses from multiple volunteer fire departments and created difficulties with internal access to fully extinguish the blaze. He described a proposed tax abatement as a "50% tax abatement" and urged commissioners not to use county tax relief to "further enhance the personal wealth" of company owners or out‑of‑county investors.
Wilson criticized federal programs by name during his remarks and referenced the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, saying federal funding for green-energy incentives could be rescinded under a change in administration. He characterized those pushing for projects as "green energy thugs" and urged the commission to stop courting the developers.
The commission chair opened the agenda discussion of a tax-abatement request for Orgis Energy but said a vote would require a motion. No motion was offered on the abatement item during the meeting, and the chair explicitly stated that without a motion the item would not carry. The record shows no formal vote on the abatement at the March 25 meeting.
