Abatement Foes State Their Case In Commissioners Court

Opposition to two large industrial projects proposed for Young County — the Project Saltworks data center and the Tapaderos Solar Farm — came into sharper focus Monday as the Young County Commissioners Court heard public discussion that questioned whether tax abatements for such developments serve the county’s long-term interests.

Among the critics was former County Judge John Charles Bullock, who submitted a written statement to commissioners reflecting on his own record approving abatements for wind and solar projects while in office — and why he now believes counties should be more cautious, if not resistant, to granting them.

“I do not like abatements and have made that point clear to the developers I have had experience with,” Judge. Bullock wrote. “Even so, I joined the majority of Commissioners Court to execute four agreements.”

Those included two wind projects that received 10-year, 100 percent abatements paired with payments in lieu of taxes, known as PILOTs, as well as a solar project that ultimately never developed. One of the wind farms became operational in late 2022.

Judge Bullock said the economic benefits promised by developers failed to materialize in any lasting way.

“These developments did not bring lasting economic impact to the county as in businesses, jobs, housing, or maintenance and service,” he wrote. “Taxes did not decrease much, if any at all.”

He acknowledged that construction brought temporary activity — including sales tax revenue and trucking traffic — but said those effects typically ended within a year.

“Just a little bigger pot for the CCC to spend out of,” he wrote, referring to the county’s general fund.

Judge Bullock said counties were often placed in competition with one another, with developers suggesting that projects would move elsewhere if abatements were not approved.

“Don’t let the numbers you hear presented or read fool you into the idea that an abatement agreement is more valuable to a taxing entity than the project coming directly onto the tax roll,” he wrote. “If that were true, no developer or investor would be requesting an abatement.”

He also noted that when abatements include PILOT agreements, projects do not appear on the tax roll until the abatement period ends — and then only at their depreciated value.

While some newer wind and solar projects no longer seek abatements from counties, Judge Bullock said developers often omit a key reason: the expiration of Chapter 313 of the Texas Tax Code in 2022, which had allowed school districts to enter into PILOT agreements. Its replacement, Chapter 403, prohibits such agreements and places financial oversight with the state.

Judge Bullock said the real appeal of Young County to developers lies not in incentives but in geography: access to high-voltage transmission lines and large tracts of land controlled by relatively few owners.

“They do not need or deserve a subsidy from the county taxpayer,” he wrote.

He was especially critical of solar farms, saying they permanently remove productive agricultural land from use.

“I do not advocate having any solar farms in Young County because they take away all of the productive agricultural uses,” he wrote.

To underscore that point, Judge Bullock cited data from the American Farmland Trust showing that 11 million acres of farmland and ranchland nationwide were converted to urban or low-density residential use between 2001 and 2016, not including wind and solar development.

He also cited Texas A&M AgriLife data indicating that Texas lost approximately 3.7 million acres of working lands to non-agricultural uses between 1997 and 2022, including 1.8 million acres in just the past five years.

The comments come as Young County weighs proposals for the Project Saltworks Data Center and the Tapaderos Solar Farm, both of which have drawn concern from residents about land use, infrastructure demands and the value of potential tax incentives.

Judge Bullock said he would be unlikely to support abatements for wind or solar projects going forward, though he stopped short of rejecting abatements entirely for other industries or locations.

“My wish would be that the legislature would allow the tax abatement section of the code for counties to expire altogether,” he wrote.