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Starr County court approves negotiation authority for three‑phase Hakan Wind tax abatement
Summary
Starr County Commissioners Court held a public hearing July 13 and approved moving forward with a tax‑abatement agreement to support a three‑phase wind project (referred in the record as Hakan Wind), which the county says represents nearly $1 billion in potential new investment and includes the San Ysidro ISD in its footprint.
Starr County Commissioners Court opened a public hearing July 13 and voted to authorize staff to finalize negotiations on a tax‑abatement agreement with Hakan Wind for a three‑phase wind energy project.
County staff member Rose summarized the scope during the hearing: “Phase 1 will be about 300 megawatts, for an investment of about 430,000,000,” and described Phase 2 at roughly 200 megawatts (about $280,000,000) and Phase 3 at about 300 megawatts (about $431,000,000). She said, “Altogether, this will create permanent, about maybe 30, to 40, jobs,” and projected substantially larger employment during construction. Rose told the court the combined phases had “already, reached, almost exceeded $1,000,000,000 of new investment.”
The county judge closed the public‑hearing portion and later the court approved the motion to allow staff to complete final terms; the transcript records the approval as “subject to the final terms,” with the specific deal points to be briefed in executive session. Rose said company representatives were present to answer questions and reiterated the company’s pledge to hire locally and attempt to purchase locally when feasible.
County staff reported the project sits in the northern part of Starr County and will affect multiple local taxing jurisdictions — county, hospital district and college — and, for the first time in similar projects presented to the court, include benefits for San Ysidro Independent School District. Staff estimated predevelopment through late 2026 into 2027, with construction targeted to begin in 2027 and phased completion by about 2029.
The court did not provide detailed abatement term sheets in open session; members said final terms will be presented to the court in executive session before any final, binding agreement is executed.
