CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) — Bradley County officials approved on Monday a one-time property tax abatement for Wacker Polysilicon, which is building a plant in Charleston that will produce polysilicon for solar panels.
The county commission approved the $1 million abatement for 2014 in 14-0 vote. The Munich, Germany-based company is expected to announce an additional $300 million investment in their northern Bradley County operations, The Chattanooga Times Free Press reported (http://bit.ly/wtxhuK ).
"That $1 million would be to cover additional infrastructure costs and other additional costs linked to an investment that Wacker is considering right now," said Gary Farlow, CEO of the Cleveland/Bradley Chamber of Commerce.
Farlow said that will bring the company's total investment in the Charleston facility to $1.8 billion. He estimated that once the plant is operational, it will provide an estimated $65 million to the community through salaries and wages for a projected staff of 600 employees.
"I think this is further proof that Wacker is committed to this community," Farlow said.
"I'm very happy to see the additional investment in Bradley County," said Commissioner Ed Elkins. "It's a very small amount of money considering the returns that Bradley County will receive over the future stream of tax revenues."
Dr. Konrad Bachhuber, site manager for Wacker's Charleston facility, said support from the community and state was instrumental in bringing the facility to Bradley County.