County IDA officials are mulling 25-year PILOT agreements for two solar projects in the town of Busti.

Rosemarie Strandburg of the county IDA said these two solar projects, called SL Jamestown, LLC and SL Jamestown 2, LLC, have been in discussion for the last two years.

SL Jamestown is a 4.75 megawatt solar project and SL Jamestown 2 is a 3 megawatt solar project. The two solar projects are proposed to be constructed on 28.2 acres of land located at 1192 Orr St.

Combined, the two solar projects are expected to cost $19.2 million to construct.

Like the two solar projects in Dunkirk, the Busti solar developers are seeking a 25-year PILOT agreement.

Should the PILOT agreement be approved by the county IDA, Strandburg said it would provide $868,820 in payments to affected taxing jurisdictions spread out during the life of the project.

The agreement calls for $2.1 million tax exemption and sales tax abatement of $1.2 million.

Janet Ward with the developer said there is a natural gas well on the property and that has been taken into account in their plans.

Ward said a landscaping buffer has been added at the request of the Busti Town Board.

A decommissioning plan and decommissioning bond has been approved by the town board. The bond is for $780,012.

Ward said should they get approved, they would like to be fully operational by spring.

The county IDA approved due diligence resolutions, which permits IDA staff to explore the financial terms, hold required public hearings and examine the environmental studies.

After the vote, IDA Chief Executive Officer Mark Geise discussed the solar projects voted on by the Board of Directors.

He noted there have been editorials published in The Post-Journal and OBSERVER questioning these numerous solar projects.

Geise responded that the IDA is approving these PILOT agreements on behalf of the local towns. “We are a tool of the municipalities. If the municipalities don’t want us to provide these incentives, we won’t,” he said.

Geise noted that the county IDA is not seeking developers for solar projects. They approach the county IDA and then they are steered to the local town board to be investigated. If the town board supports them, he said they will then offer the tax incentives.

County Executive PJ Wendel, who is not a member of the county IDA Board of Directors but was at the meeting, noted how the solar projects in Busti have natural gas on them.

He would like to see the governor create more “energy fields” that would use both natural gas and solar. “We have an abundance of natural gas. Start tapping into what they call an energy project or an energy field, where you’ve got solar along with fossil fuel,” he said.

Prior to discussion of the proposed Busti agreements, two solar projects in Northern Chautauqua County were approved for tax incentives. During the county Industrial Development Agency Board of Directors meeting, board members approved a Payment In Lieu Of Taxes agreement for a 5 megawatt solar project and a 4.8 megawatt project located at 3761 East Lake Road, in the town of Dunkirk.

Construction for the combined solar projects is expected to cost about $22,361,000.

According to Strandburg, the PILOT agreement is for 25 years and will provide about $1,302,000 in payments to affected taxing jurisdictions. The total tax exemption will be $2,464,091 plus $900,000 in sales tax abatement.

There were no comments made during a public hearing held on Nov. 12.

Strandburg said the Dunkirk Town Board is in support of these two projects. The town board has been working with the developer for a few years now.

The resolutions authorizing the PILOT agreements were unanimously approved.