The Carbon County Commissioners discussed the consideration and possible approval of a Cost Reimbursement Agreement (CRA) with RPLUS Energies during their meeting on Wednesday evening.
Commission Chair Larry Jensen explained that this is pertaining to the solar field that is located in Wellington, which is completed and commissioned, turned on and producing power. The same company, RPLUS Energies, would like to build an additional solar field north of the existing field.
Their request, according to Commissioner Jensen, is that they go through the same steps in creating a CRA to help for taxing purposes. He then said that there seems to be some confusion in the community on what that really means. The CRA is not taking tax dollars to give to RPLUS; rather, the company is paying taxes and a reimbursement goes, in part, back to help with the infrastructure they put in.
This brings additional income to the county for each of the deals that they cut. It was also stated that this is a pretty common thing for new industry that comes into an area. According to Commissioner Jensen, hundreds of cities and counties across the western U.S. need to be competitive for newcomers as these agreements are generally expected.
This agreement would allow an attorney firm to do work for Carbon County to create a CRA. RPLUS Energies would then reimburse those costs back to the county and pay for all of the legal work that is required to create and implement the CRA.
Commissioner Tony Martines then said that the current land that they are pursuing is on green belt. In terms of taxes, the property has only generated hundreds of dollars for nearly 1,000 acres. As it is re-zoned and changed, the county will receive a lot more tax dollars just from that. There is more money coming in than would have been expected from just a re-zoning.
Commissioner Martines also stated that RPLUS Energies has been great in support that they give to the community, pointing out that they donated $75,000 to USU Eastern for scholarships. This aims to provide local students the chance to attend the university in their pursuit of STEM-related education.
“They have been a good partner for the county,” said Commissioner Martines.
He continued by stating that he believes that it is wise to support those that give back, and this has worked out well for everybody. Commissioner Casey Hopes clarified that whatever the base amount is at the date of the creation of the CRA remains in place and the incentive is on the increment.
Commissioner Martines also wished to clarify that the county is not pushing away from coal, but power companies are saying that they are. He acknowledged that they are not opposed to any source of energy that is willing to move into Carbon County. From there, the agreement was approved.