A newly formed Jeff Davis Parish Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) committee approved a request Wednesday for a 10-year industrial tax break for a proposed $57 million solar project planned in Topsy.
Committee members Police Jury President Steve Eastman, School Board President Paul Trahan and Sheriff Kyle Miers granted a request from Aypa Power to secure the industrial tax break for its Cajun Crossroads Energy Center project in rural Jeff Davis Parish.
The Texas-based company plans to build a $440 million, 375-megawatt solar powered generation facility on 2,400 acres in Jeff Davis and Calcasieu parishes. About 400 acres of the project will be located in Topsy in the northwest corner of Jeff Davis Parish with two-related projects to be located in Calcasieu Parish.
“We look forward to being partners to the community and moving the project forward,” Aypa Power Senior Vice President Forrest Forster said.
Officials in Calcasieu Parish approved separate ITEP requests Tuesday for the Crescent Coast Energy Center and Cajun Crossroads Energy Center projects.
The Louisiana Board of Commerce and Industry also approved the industrial tax break for the project in June.
Police Jury President Steve Eastman said the project will benefit Jeff Davis Parish by providing more economic development, tax revenue and jobs.
“For the construction phase it is more jobs for the parish and more people spending money in the parish, but for the long-term it will mean tax revenue and a very low negative impact industrial development for the parish,” Eastman said.
Under the agreement, the company will be exempted from 80 percent of its property taxes for up to 10 years. The company will still have to pay the remaining 20 percent of property taxes, along with sales, income and other taxes.
Even with the tax break, the parish will receive additional property taxes. Eastman said the parish is currently receiving $1,338 annually on property taxes on the land. It is expected to increase to $138,402 per year for the first 10 years, resulting in $10 million over 30 years.
The project is also expected to generate $1.6 million in local sales taxes during the construction phase which will include multiple solar panels, transformers and transmission lines which will connect to Entergy’s high voltage grid.
The project should also create about 300 construction jobs, according to Forster. Once completed, the project will employ a handful of maintenance employees to oversee the facility.
Construction of the facility is expected to begin by next year with operations underway by late 2026.
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