SOLARCYCLE tax abatement deal gets thumbs up from County Commission

Provisional approval given to agreement after final attorney review

County Commissioners gave their thumbs up in a deal to help bring SOLARCYCLE to Cedartown during their Tuesday regular session.

A tax abatement agreement was given a unanimous vote from the Commissioners with the caveat that the County Attorney Brad McFall and Cedartown City Attorney Carey Pilgrim both make some grammatical changes to the document.

Commissioner Ray Carter pointed out several areas where the agreement didn’t make completely clear which entities were responsible for specific areas – like providing temporary office space to SOLARCYCLE as they get the project underway.

Carter said he wanted to make sure that these areas were changed in the language of the Memorandum of Understanding before it became official, which attorneys noted would be completed in the coming days following the Tuesday, July 2 session.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the tax abatement agreement comes with several features that provide SOLARCYCLE with savings on local tax payments that are typical incentives provided to industries willing to locate (or relocate) to local communities seeking new jobs and properties to be sold.

Cedartown’s latest new business announcement made earlier this year brings the solar panel recycling company toward the east coast to recycle panels and then utilize the glass that comes from them to make new glass, which can be used to make new panels.

SOLARCYCLE is looking to make a multimillion dollar investment with the new project, and already got permission back in June from the Cedartown City Commission and the Cedartown Development Authority to sell bonds to fund the project.

This agreement calls for a 10-year tax abatement for SOLARCYCLE to start once the plant officially opens – no later than 2028 and last until 2039, with the cities and counties to collect only a percentage of the assessed value of the land, facility and equipment as an incentive for locating to Polk County.

SOLARCYCLE’s deal begins with the higher portion of the abatement beginning during the first year, and decreasing toward the company paying its full bill by the end of the abatement period in the late 2030s.

Alongside with the abatements, the agreement also includes Community Recovery Payments made during the period, which will be paid as a percentage of the taxable value of the company’s assets in Polk.

SOLARCYCLE is also presenting options for how large a facility will be constructed in the agreement, based on additional land purchases that will impact the footprint of the plant if they go forward. It’ll allow for a larger area for the recycling area for solar panels.

A relatively newer company, SOLARCYCLE first opened its doors at their Texas facility and added their corporate headquarters to Mesa, Arizona this year. The plans to move to Cedartown and open an east coast-based facility coincides with a solar manufacturer announcing plans in Dalton as well, where glass from future plant is planned to be utilized for new solar cells.

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