AGAWAM — The town will receive more than $75,000 per year in personal property taxes from a large solar array.
City councilors on Monday voted 11-0 to approve a payment in lieu of taxes plan for a ground-mounted photovoltaic energy facility of more than 5 megawatts at 311 Shoemaker Lane.
The 20-year agreement, negotiated by Mayor William Sapelli and Town Solicitor Stephen Buoniconti, is expected to pay more than $75,000 in the first year, rising 2% per year. The property is owned by Timothy Zielinski and Halladay Farm Trust, but the taxes will be paid by Engie North America Inc., which will operate the solar facility.
The $75,000-plus payment is for personal property, the taxes that businesses pay on their equipment and merchandise. The solar company will also pay real estate taxes and utility rates like any other business.
Council President Christopher Johnson said towns of Agawam’s size do not have an in-house assessor who can evaluate the annual depreciation in value of solar energy equipment. Locking in an annual payment removes the need to pay for an outside consultant to conduct annual appraisals, he said.
Plans for the array date back at least to 2017, before the City Council adopted an ordinance that requires operators of large solar farms to obtain a permit from the council. According to the mayor’s office, the project has been approved by the state and reviewed by the local Planning Board and Conservation Commission, and is set to begin operations this fall.
The Zielinski property abuts agricultural and residential zones, including Crestview Country Club, though the nearest structures to the solar panels are hundreds of feet away. The solar panels will be set back more than 1,000 feet from the road. In 2017, proponents said the solar array will have no visual impact on neighboring properties.
The solar panels will stand about 6 feet tall and will be surrounded by chain-link fences. The panels themselves cover about 22 acres of a property larger than 50 acres. The property includes several wetlands on which panels will not be built. Most of the property, a former farm, is zoned for agriculture.
Councilor George Bitzas questioned what would happen if the solar array were abandoned before the 20-year agreement is over. Johnson said the property owner would be responsible for removing the abandoned structures, and if there were no equipment on the property, there would be no need for a personal property tax payment. He added that Engie is a large, international company, and unlikely to build a project that wouldn’t last 20 years.
City councilors also approved the receipt of two state grants: a $17,883.63 grant to purchase laptop computers for the Fire Department and a $177,396 Green Communities award to fund the conversion of light fixtures to LEDs and other energy efficiency upgrades at Agawam High School and Agawam Junior High School.
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