Find something wrong with this incentive package

The typical BlueNC post on corporate incentives is a rant against the practice of offering massive incentive packages to companies to stay in or locate in North Carolina - deals that ultimately won't impact employment figures or bring in tax revenues at a rate that makes sense. I think I've found an incentive package that makes sense and I've been working hard to find something wrong with it.

From CentreDaily.com:

Sencera International Corporation, a manufacturer of thin film solar (photovoltaic) modules is expanding in Charlotte. The company plans to invest $36.8 million and create 65 jobs during the next three years. It was made possible in part by a $62,000 One North Carolina Fund grant as well as local incentives from the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County.

Sencera, which is headquartered in Charlotte, develops and manufactures amorphous and microcrystalline thin film solar modules using its proprietary Viper plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition platform. The company also operates a research and development laboratory serving the solar energy industry. The company, with 10 employees, is planning to construct a solar module facility that will produce solar cells and assemble them into photovoltaic panels. Total manufacturing capacity will exceed 38 megawatts by 2011. Sencera's headquarters and present operations will move to the new facility.

The One North Carolina Fund grant didn't seem out of line, but I was a bit nervous about the Charlotte and Mecklenburg portion of the deal. Here's a little more detail on the full package:

The One North Carolina Fund assists the state in industry recruitment and expansion by providing financial incentives to attract business projects that will stimulate economic activity and create new jobs in the state. One North Carolina Fund Grants require and are contingent upon local matching funds. Over a three-year period the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County match is projected to be a total of $1,039,721, which represents 90% of what the company will pay in property taxes during that time.

Basically, for three years the company won't have to pay property taxes. Three years isn't a long time when you're talking about a high tech company that is developing products that will provide for future energy needs.

There will only be 65 new jobs, but they will average over $73,000 annual salary which is well above the average in Mecklenburg County. That's almost $5 million a year. Not a bad addition to the tax base and will help offset the property tax allowance.

Sencera has not been around a long time and this is a bit of a gamble, but can you think of anything much better to gamble on? Here's a little more insight into the company, it's founder and what they are trying to accomplish.

Established in 2003, Sencera customers included the US Army and the US Display Consortium. Sencera's plasma processes and hardware were successfully utilized in Thin Film Transistor and Integrated Circuit applications. These processes have direct photovoltaic applications. In 2006, Sencera began contract work for leading CIGS (Copper, Indium, Gallium, Selenide) solar cell developers. Success on CIGS cell processes validated The Company's tools and processes in the solar industry. In 2007, Sencera embarked on the development of proprietary thin film amorphous silicon and microcrystalline silicon solar cells.

Sencera was founded by Dr. Russell Jewett, a PhD in Nuclear Engineering. He is a plasma physicist with broad experience from research at Sandia National Labs to commercial success in both large semi-conductor companies and start-up ventures.

:::snip:::

Use of proceeds from the $3.6 million equity investment will be used to build a prototype 1 Megawatt (MW) thin film photovoltaic manufacturing platform. Work will also center on solar cell efficiency milestones. Upon the completion of the demonstration phase, Sencera will begin construction on a 35-50 MW PV module manufacturing line employing 60-75 highly skilled workers. The site for the line will be selected from several candidate locations.

I realize we don't have all the nitty gritty details of this deal, but from the surface the amount being offered by the state, county and city seems very reasonable and the potential return on investment holds tremendous promise.