Project Aztec revealed, final vote delayed

Final approval of a solar farm project near Fair Play will have to wait, but now major details of the project confidential till now stand revealed. County attorney David Root asked the County Council on Tuesday to delay a third reading on a fee-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with Blue Ridge Solar LLC because the company representatives still held some of the paperwork involved. Under the terms of the financial incentive agreement the company will pay the county a fee of $100,000 annually in lieu of property taxes provided that all requirements are met regarding the company’s agreed investment in the site. The agreement commits the Asheville, North Carolina-managed company to invest at least $50 million within five years in the site at the county’s Golden Corner Commerce Park off S.C. 59 near Fair Play. The company and another holding company, the Delaware-chartered Silver Creek Intermediate, will also purchase the 322-acre Golden Corner Commerce Park from the county for $2,163,540, or $6,720 per acre. The third reading and passage of the county’s agreement with the company is expected later this month.