ROSEBUD COUNTY — From proposed data centers to solar farms, new development is reshaping communities across Montana. Now, a solar farm could be coming to Forsyth, and Rosebud County is asking residents to weigh in on a proposed tax abatement.
A proposed solar and battery farm is putting a major tax decision in front of the community, and residents are making sure their voices are heard.
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"NextEra Energy is looking at building a solar farm battery storage project about two miles east of Forsyth," Rosebud County Commissioner Robert Lee said Tuesday.
The project is planned for private property, meaning Rosebud County can't decide whether it gets built. What county leaders can decide is how it gets taxed.
"You got private property, private company, and we have no say so in whether or not they build it. The only say so we have is whether or not we give it abatement or not," Lee said.
Lee says a tax abatement was already passed for the Clearwater Wind Farm that stretches across part of Rosebud and two other counties, so he calls the abatement a no-brainer.
"We are going to collect more tax, we're going to collect more money to provide more services with the abatement than without the abatement," Lee said.
Here's how it works.
"What they're asking for is a 50% tax abatement and the tax abatement would be it would reduce their taxes for the first five years by half. In year six, they would get a they pay 60% of the tax, year seven, 70% year 10, 100% of the tax. And from there on out, they would pay 100% of the tax," Lee said.
And if they don't do a tax abatement:
"If we do not do a tax abatement we'll get 50% of the newly taxable value for the life of project 2025 years," Lee said.
But for some people who live near the proposed site, the debate isn't just about taxes. It's about what they'll see outside their windows.
"We didn't buy this, we bought this property, because this is what our dream was. We didn't think that we'd be looking at our window with a solar farm, because if we knew that, we would have never bought it, and no one's gonna wanna buy our house," one resident said.
The questions go beyond the solar farm itself. Some residents want to know whether this project could open the door to other large-scale development.
"My question is, is this about bringing data centers? Or is this just about renewable energy?" one resident said.
While the county can't change whether the project is coming, leaders can decide whether to give a tax abatement.
"We have 120 days to either approve it or deny," Lee said.
