Jack County commissioners will hold a public hearing later this month to consider tax abatement agreements with PK Solar, LLC for improvements related to solar panels and battery energy storage systems (BESS).
The hearings are scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday, April 27 at the Jack County Courthouse.
PK Solar submitted an application for a 50% abatement on property taxes in February 2025 and the court approved an order in June 2025 to establish a reinvestment zone encompassing approximately 1,368 acres of land just south of Halsell Ranch Road in southern Jack County, stretching to the Palo Pinto County line.
PK Solar is requesting an abatement of approximately $88,000,000 in improvements for the generation of electricity using solar panels. Close to 30% of the project will be located in Jack County.
The solar facility investment includes solar modules or panels, metal mounting system with tracking capabilities, underground conduit, communications cables and electric system wiring and combiner boxes.
Also included is a project substation with breakers, a transformer and meters, overhead transmission lines, inverter boxes on concrete pads, an operations and maintenance facility, fencing, communications system, meteorological equipment and more.
Once online, the proposed project could generate about 262 megawatts alternating current (MWac).
Estimated property tax revenue with a 10-year abatement totaled $783,606 and was estimated at $2,155,001 over the 35-year life of the project.
Jack County Energy Storage is requesting an abatement of approximately $165,000,000 in improvements related to BESS.
The applicant is considering the development of a 201-megawatt lithium-ion battery storage facility solely in Jack County with additional improvements to include battery containers, storage racks, HVAC system, electrical transmission cables, transformers, inverters and more to transmit power to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) electrical grid.
Estimated taxes with a 10-year abatement totaled $1,379,377, and totaled $3,793,347 over the 35-year life of the project.
In its application for abatement, PK Solar stated that technology and equipment described for both the solar and BESS projects would be subject to the abatement and would be installed within the established reinvestment zone.
Taxable value for Year 1 is estimated at approximately $194,000,000, which includes both solar and BESS facilities.
If the project moves forward, PK Solar estimates it could create 250 temporary jobs with payroll ranging from $12.5 million to $19 million over the entirety of the project both inside and outside Jack County.
The project will create one permanent job with an annual salary of $74,000.
Representatives for PK Solar stated the company was willing to consider employment and housing incentives as part of abatement discussions while also looking to source at least 10% of labor and resources from Jack County.
During consideration of establishing a reinvestment zone last summer, commissioners made clear that they wanted local contractors to be seriously considered for bids on the project.
“I want more than 10% in Jack County,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Henry Birdwell, Jr. said last June. “We have contractors who go all over the U.S. to work who were not even offered a job on the Pennington project. If they can’t compete, I understand that, but it’s unacceptable that they don’t even get to bid on the job.”
Construction could begin as soon as this year, with estimated completion and commercial operations beginning in late 2027. The first payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) would come due in tax year 2028.
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