Ripley Solar Project presentation
The Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency has approved incentives for ConnectGen Chautauqua County LLC’s South Ripley solar project.
The 270 megawatt large-scale solar project will be located in South Ripley. The Project will include a 20 MW battery energy storage component.
IDA CEO and Deputy County Executive for Economic Development Mark Geise said, “The built-in certainty of guaranteed revenue made possible by the PILOT and Host Community Agreements will allow Ripley and Chautauqua County to make long-term financial plans, and I’m glad that the CCIDA could assist the Town and ConnectGen in making it a reality.”
Through the PILOT and Host Community Agreements, the project is expected to contribute over $60 million in increased revenue to local taxing jurisdictions including the Town of Ripley, Chautauqua County, the Sherman Central School District, the Ripley Central School District, and the Ripley Volunteer Fire Department over its 30-plus-year lifespan. In addition to the local tax benefits, local landowners are expected to receive more than $30 million in long-term revenue in the form of solar leases, easement agreements, and good neighbor agreements.
The CCIDA Board of Directors unanimously approved a 30-year payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement, sales tax abatements, and a mortgage recording tax abatement for the project. According to IDA Project Manager Linda Burns, the estimated financial incentive package over the 30-year term is valued at approximately $88 million, while the projected state and regional benefits that are expected to result from the project are estimated at $238 million – a benefit to cost ratio of 3:1.
ConnectGen estimates that construction of the Project will create up to 200 family-wage construction jobs. Once completed, the project will require two to four full time jobs for ongoing monitoring and maintenance.
Leave a Reply