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Developer pitches 300 MW 'Project Eagle' to Utah County, seeks 6-year tax-increment support
Summary
Strata Solar’s representative described Project Eagle — a proposed 300 MW, 2,000-acre utility-scale solar farm — and asked county leaders to consider tax-incentive participation (proposing 100% of incremental personal-property taxes for six years) to improve project competitiveness after 2016 state changes to how personal property generates new growth.
Doug Larson of Elevate Consulting, representing Strata Solar, presented "Project Eagle," a proposed 300 MW AC utility-scale solar farm sited on roughly 2,000 acres west of the lake. Larson said the project uses single-axis tracking panels, will generate hundreds of construction jobs during a 6–10 month construction window, and requires minimal ongoing staff once operational.
Larson asked the county to help make the project competitive by participating in a tax-incentive package. Because 2016 state changes removed personal property from the new-growth calculation, he said, the principal way taxing entities can realize new growth from personal-property investment is by participating in an incentive program. The developer requested participating taxing entities provide 100% of incremental tax revenue from the project for six years, with taxing entities beginning to see new-growth revenue in year seven. Larson described several revenue and depreciation assumptions and estimated the project would pay roughly $36 million in assessed property taxes over a 15-year analytical timeframe with approximately $18 million in incentive dollars under a prior 15-year/50% model.
Commissioners asked questions about why full (100%) participation was proposed, the project's proximity to transmission capacity and Rocky Mountain Power interconnection constraints, and the relative public benefits, given the limited permanent local jobs after construction. Larson said the public benefits are renewable energy generated closer to load (reducing transmission losses), long-term tax base stabilization, no water or sewer impacts, and limited transportation impacts. Commissioners asked staff to analyze the taxing entities' positions, coordination with Alpine School District and others, and legal/financial mechanics before a formal decision.
No formal incentive agreement was approved at this meeting; the presentation put the project on the commission's radar and commissioners instructed staff to follow up with additional analysis and inter-agency conversations.
