Former Hoku plant sold to Celtic Life Sciences

The former Hoku plant in Pocatello is officially sold, but not to the company that was expected to buy it.

Bannock County officials confirmed that Celtic Life Sciences LLC bought the plant on Friday, only two days after the Pocatello Development Authority rescinded their agreement with Solargise America, the company originally in talks to buy the plant.

While Celtic Life Sciences bought the facility, they still don’t own the land. The PDA will meet in the coming weeks to discuss what to do with the land.

Part of the reason the PDA decided to cancel the agreement with Solargise was because the company wouldn’t pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars in back taxes on the plant.

But now, Portneuf Capital has paid part of the delinquent taxes, enough to keep the plant from being auctioned off. Portneuf Capital originally had an agreement with Solargise to buy the land and lease it to them, but that agreement ended on Aug. 14.

It is unclear whether Portneuf Capital has a new agreement with Celtic Life Sciences. More information will be posted as the deal unfolds.