Element Electronics announced 5 years ago that it would open a TV assembly plant in Fairfield County.,

Little information was made public about the taxpayer costs of the planned $7.5 million project and its promised 500 jobs.

The state estimated total public cost over 15 years was nearly $14.8 million.

The Minnesota-based company announced last week it would close its Winnsboro plant and lay off 126 full-time workers.

How much are state and local taxpayers on the hook?

Fairfield County owns the 312,000-square-foot building. The company received state and local incentives without making its jobs and investment targets.

The closure comes a year after SC Electric & Gas and Santee Cooper abandoned construction of two nuclear reactors in Fairfield County, costing the jobs of more than 5,000 workers.

A number of companies closed after receiving taxpayer-backed incentives, including Mack Trucks, which closed a truck assembly plant in Fairfield County costing 1,500 jobs.

The SC Department of Commerce said “clawback” provisions in the Element Electronics agreement require companies to repay public money if they fail to meet certain hiring or investment requirements.