Lancium, an energy, technology and infrastructure company, is in the midst of building a data center on an 800-acre tract of former ranchland here in Abilene.
The company has also recently renegotiated tax-abatement agreements with the city of Abilene and Taylor County.
Both agreements offer Lancium, and any subsidiary companies who build on their land, a discount in property taxes over a period of 20 years.
Will these agreements benefit the city and the county? How many new jobs will Lancium bring? And will Abilenians see any of these benefits?
New jobs & new energy
Abilene seems to be heading in a new direction with renewable energy on the coming campus that Development Corporation of Abilene President Misty Mayo calls "an enormous asset for our community."
The Reporter-News recently sat down with Mayo to discuss the potential benefits that Lancium can bring to the table.
Mayo said this new data center will be Lancium's main campus in Texas, anchoring them here in the Big Country. She also noted that it will focus on renewable energy such as wind and solar to operate the new substation that they recently installed.
Mayo said the substation will add 200 megawatts to the Abilene grid — in a city that averages 300 megawatts for peak usage.
While Lancium will create new commercial energy, residents will not benefit from utility savings, Mayo said. The company will, however, create 57 new full-time jobs in the technology sector.
These new jobs will come with "an average salary of $67,000," according to Lancium's website.
Anticipated flow of tax dollars to Abilene
Lancium broke ground on Nov. 3, 2022, at their Abilene Campus which "will be home to a variety of industries that are powered by low-cost renewable energy," according to Lancium's website.
What used to be ranchland will house "a data center that will host a range of advanced computing applications."
Abilene's clean campus, the company calls it, "will be home to both bitcoin mining and high throughput computing — a type of advanced cloud computing for applications like medical research, video production and aircraft/vehicle design," according to Lancium's website.
The city of Abilene "anticipates receiving significant tax proceeds from this development," according to City Manager Robert Hanna.
He said that it could mean $90 million dollars in tax proceeds over approximately 20 years.
Hanna noted the dollar amount could vary from year to year, but there was enough confidence in them to have the city of Abilene strike an 85% tax abatement deal with the new company for the first 10 years.
This means that Lancium and its future subsidiary companies will only pay 15% of their property tax bill for the first 10 years.
After those ten years, the abatement will only apply only to new property and equipment acquisitions.
Hanna noted that they are approximately two fiscal years away from seeing any tax revenue that Lancium could provide.
Taylor County, on the other hand agreed, to an 80% tax abatement deal.
And the DCOA agreed to reimburse Lancium with "an incentive package in an amount not to exceed $2,500,000 in exchange for Lancium’s creation of 57 jobs and capital investment of $52,350,000 at the end of a 7-year period," Mayo said in a follow-up email with the Reporter-News.
It remains to be seen, however, if the new contract with Lancium will help dig the city out of their current financial struggles as a result of a sluggish economy.
Future benefits?
Tax abatements, in general, can help to reduce unemployment, strengthen other businesses, increase tax revenue, provide a flexible economic development tool, and produce tax revenue long term after the abatement expires, according to the Texas Comptroller .
Additionally, Lancium could help in the event of another Snowmageddon in Abilene.
Hanna said that Lancium could not help power the city of Abilene if another big storm occurs.
According to Lancium's website, however, "in the event of tight power supplies, Lancium will power down its facility to help the electric grid and free up additional energy for homes and businesses across Texas."
Finally, Lanicum's website notes that concerned neighbors have a voice and should send their concerns to Abilene@lancium.com.
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This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: New energy company renegotiates the deal with Abilene, could bring millions in tax revenue
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