Hawkins County Industrial Development Board approves tax incentive

ROGERSVILLE — The Hawkins County Industrial Development Board offered a company reduced taxes at its meeting Thursday afternoon. This payment in lieu of taxes, or PILOT, program is an incentive for the company to expand its local facility instead of one in Michigan. The company, codenamed Project Novo, has a site in the Phipps Bend Industrial Park. Per the PILOT, Hawkins County would collect only half of the company's taxes on its new equipment for the next seven years. This amounts to $129,355, or $18,479 a year; Hawkins would get that amount, and the company would save an equal amount. Taxes on the existing property would stay the same, so there'd be an overall increase in tax revenue. "This positions us to defeat Michigan, for [Novo] to make that investment here in Tennessee," said Michael Parker, the director of economic development at NETWORKS Sullivan Partnership. "It's a win-win, how we view it. This is all new money coming to the county. This isn't giving money to the company, it's just failure to collect on something we may or may not get. Half of nothing is zero, still." Parker said Novo is a large, preferred employer in Hawkins. It has done expansions here in the past, he said, and is looking to bring a secondary product line. It won't need a physical building expansion. This is a $15 million investment of personal property from the company, Parker said, creating 73 jobs in the next four years. Board Chair Patrick Lund said these jobs would pay around $60,000 a year. There should be a formal announcement about the expansion, naming the company, in the next few weeks. The state assigns codenames to ongoing projects to protect the company's privacy from competitors. Project Novo was previously known as Campbell and TopCoat. Other updates Energy company Tenaska's battery energy storage system — or Bobwhite Energy Storage site — is on track to be operational by the last quarter of 2029, Lund said. The project was formally announced in April. The BESS will store excess electricity from the grid to deploy when needed. It is expected to start construction in 2027 — creating 75 jobs during its peak — and represents an estimated $300 million investment into the local economy, according to a press release. Project Rocks, the polysilicon producer Highland Materials, continues after 3.5 years of effort. The $900 million manufacturing project could create 425 jobs over the next several years. There are still some moving pieces, NETWORKS CEO Clay Walker said. But, if things go well, Highland Materials could break ground in the first quarter of next year. Project Third is ready to be announced, Lund said, awaiting the company's decision. Third is a preexisting Phipps Bend industry, set to expand with a $3-4 million investment and 50 new jobs. Editor's Note: This article was corrected on May 21 to reflect that the amount of money received by the county and saved by Project Novo's company is $129,355 across the seven-year program.