UTEP still stuck

For those who sleep, eat and breathe wind power issues, progress on a uniform tax-exempt policy isn't happening fast - or at all right now.

When the board of directors of the Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency approved the Galloo Island Wind Farm payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement on Feb. 4, they agreed that the original goal: a county-wide policy on tax breaks for wind power developers should be the focus once again.

But in the last two months, the agency's wind committee hasn't met.

Agency staff have tried to organize a meeting, but has been foiled by committee members' conflicts four times.

“At this point, I’m waiting for Bill Fulkerson to come back from Florida,” said Donald C. Alexander, chief executive officer of JCIDA.

William H. Fulkerson, also supervisor in Ellisburg, is a member of the committee and will return soon.

After a contentious public debate and narrow vote for the PILOT by the legislators, they made it clear they did not want a repeat of the storm of controversy around the PILOT.

The PILOT is a 20-year agreement with base payments of $8,500 per megawatt, escalating at 2.5 percent per year, plus supplemental payments if the wholesale grid price for electricity reaches certain thresholds.

A uniform tax-exempt policy will likely mirror the Galloo Island PILOT, but the development is waiting to be restarted.

“It is on hold,” said Donald C. Alexander, chief executive officer of Jefferson County Industrial Development Agency, which was tasked by the county Board of Legislators to develop the policy in May 2008. “There’s no rush to pursue it.”