Fisher County commissioners hold public hearing on amended tax abatement for battery project; vote postponed

Fisher County commissioners on April 13 held a public hearing on an amendment to an existing tax-abatement agreement for an energy project near Sylvester that would narrow the scope to a battery-storage installation. Staff said an agenda issue prevented a final vote, so commissioners took public testimony and will consider the amended agreement at a later regular meeting or a special-called meeting.

The company representative said the project is now advancing as a battery-only facility while the originally proposed solar portion is delayed; staff said the amendment would reduce the abatement value from the original figure of $300,000 to $200,000. The company representative described the battery facility as a roughly 240-megawatt, containerized storage installation made up of about 35 shipping-container-sized units sited on a pad of a few acres and connected to a nearby switchyard for grid interconnection. "The batteries really balance the electricity," the company representative said. "They store power when it's abundant and release it when needed." (Speaker identified in the meeting as a company representative.)

Residents and commissioners asked about community impacts and safety. One resident who said they live about a mile from the proposed site said there are "about nine houses within a roughly two-mile radius" and raised questions about living near the facility. Another resident suggested a possible weather or lightning effect; the company representative and others said they were not aware of any such effect and did not substantiate the claim. The company representative said the containers have small HVAC loads and that the facilities are being built to applicable engineering and city standards and include fire-protection measures.

Staff clarified that the abatement calculation is based on the facility's nameplate capacity (rated megawatts), not on actual electricity generation, and that the amended agreement would cover the full 240-megawatt capacity planned for construction. Because of the agenda issue, staff said the revised abatement document and a short synopsis of what is changing will be posted publicly and that the county must provide a seven-day notice to other tax entities before action. Commissioners discussed scheduling and identified a special-called meeting as the fastest way to take a vote; a date in the week of the 8th was discussed with Friday the 12th noted as a possible option.

The hearing concluded with no formal vote on the amendment. The county will post the amended agreement for public review and set a date to take final action, either at the next regular meeting or at a special-called session.