Roosevelt County approves ordinance issuing $17.3 million IRB cap for DG Sundale solar project

Roosevelt County commissioners voted to approve an ordinance authorizing the issuance of industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) with a maximum aggregate principal amount of $17,325,000 to support a proposed solar generating facility being developed by DG Sundale LLC, an affiliate of NextEra.

County‑retained counsel Peter Kelton and developer counsel Ian Bearden presented the IRB structure and said the transaction is a tax‑exemption mechanism rather than county debt. Kelton said title to project property would pass to the county and be leased back to the developer as part of the standard IRB structure; that leasehold and county conveyance make certain property and gross receipts tax exemptions available under state statute.

Kelton said the project site covers about 80 acres outside an incorporated area of the county, would have roughly 9 megawatts of generating capacity and the bonds would run for 30 years, which is also the duration of the property tax exemption available under the arrangement. The developer and county negotiated a pilot (payment in lieu of taxes) pilot rate of $2,250 per megawatt hour of capacity for a pilot consistent with a recently approved project; Kelton estimated the pilot would yield roughly $20,250 annually once the 9 megawatts are achieved and noted the statutory formula divides that amount between the county (about 72.3 percent) and local school districts (about 27.7 percent).

Commissioners asked about heavy equipment traffic and potential road damage. Kelton said the developer agreed to an extra one‑time $5,000 payment in the first two years to help offset transport impacts; he also said the county could add lease language to clarify that the $5,000 is not a cap on developer liability if the county can demonstrate material damage caused by the project.

After questions and brief discussion, a commissioner moved to adopt the IRB ordinance with direction to include road‑use/lease language addressing responsibility for damage; the motion was seconded and carried. The commission did not adopt a separate road‑use agreement at the meeting.

The ordinance authorizes the county to act as issuer; Kelton emphasized that the bonds would not be county debt and the county would not be liable for repayment. The next procedural step Kelton described is publication of the adopting ordinance and a 30‑day waiting period before closing could occur under statute.

Action: The commission approved the ordinance to issue IRBs for DG Sundale LLC (motion carried).