Solar Leases

[reedkj]

Make sure they have some environmental protection build in... the panel components are pretty much hazardous waste if not contained.

[Texans42]

Typically a company will buy an Option for some small fee while doing their due diligence (call it $10/acre). This is typically 2 years. Once everything is complete then they can either decide to move forward with it or get out of the deal. My biggest question is, what happens if all the land is cleared, solar panels are installed and then 6 years from now the company goes bankrupt or the government quits the subsidies or whatever. I know you said they were agreeing to pay upfront which is not common and would be great if true. But what happens if my land is borderline useless and filled with panels and the company responsible is not around anymore.

needs to a land reclamation bond attached. Wind turbines it was pretty easy, solar been a little different. They really don't care who you are. Its enough money they can find more land.

OP make sure you read the fine print, Like tilden said they normally have a 3-5 year bail out/option period meaning they have 3-5 years to put panels in or lease is terminated. usually no money until they break ground. 3years is best I’ve seen, and it was a 6k acre lease in a ranch owned by attorneys. I leased 4500 acres and they pulled out. i got my attorney fees paid for is about all I netted.

[Mertzon Man]

If you have not already done so, I would highly suggest you go find a real estate attorney or attorney that deals in land acquisition (easements, fee title and or leases).
Best of luck and hope your family hits a home run.

Rwc

This!!!

[Laner7]

We are having one built on us as well. As others stated hire an attorney. They will do an option period, typically we have seen 4 years at $10/ acre to decide if they want to build or not. That being said we have had battery station have a 4 year option and they built it the first year. You could try to get more for the money for the option period, but that’s a toss up. The bad thing about the option is if some other company wanted to build in that same location then they can’t go into contract with you until the option period is up and then you run the risk of the company you have now of not building, so you can get kind of “screwed”. This has happened to us..Our contract covers that after the 30 year period they have a chance to renew contract or they must clear the land and plant native grass/restore the land. We have transmission lines, battery stations, wind turbines, power stations and now in a solar contract. They all have there different guidelines, but the option period is pretty standard. I’ve never seen them pay a total sum for the lease. Ours have always been paid yearly.
Do you know how much you’re getting per acre?

[solocam_aggie]

We are having one built on us as well. As others stated hire an attorney. They will do an option period, typically we have seen 4 years at $10/ acre to decide if they want to build or not. That being said we have had battery station have a 4 year option and they built it the first year. You could try to get more for the money for the option period, but that’s a toss up. The bad thing about the option is if some other company wanted to build in that same location then they can’t go into contract with you until the option period is up and then you run the risk of the company you have now of not building, so you can get kind of “screwed”. This has happened to us..Our contract covers that after the 30 year period they have a chance to renew contract or they must clear the land and plant native grass/restore the land. We have transmission lines, battery stations, wind turbines, power stations and now in a solar contract. They all have there different guidelines, but the option period is pretty standard. I’ve never seen them pay a total sum for the lease. Ours have always been paid yearly.
Do you know how much you’re getting per acre?

Going to shoot you a PM. Would love to discuss more in detail.

And after reading the sample agreement, you guys are all correct in that the option period is spelled out in that agreement.

[Dmck]

I'm working on a 4800 acre Solar Farm now. We have filed the option on the acreage and are starting the next project.
The land owners are getting $500 p/acre for 20 years and then an additional 10 year option. The land will be secured by a bond that in the event Solar fades into the past the land will be put back as original use.

[TKRanch]

Make certain the taxes are covered as I would guess that the CAD might be likely to remove AG on the portion of the property under panels and that could be an eye opener!!

[steve morton]

This

Sounds like a good deal. One thing I would be weary of is who is responsible for solar panel removable/disposal once the lease is up.

This is the 100 dollar question

[Pin Oak DXT]

Prices for new deals are well north of $500 per acre. Don’t ask me how I know. If I was negotiating a deal now I would be seeking $700-$750 per.


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[graesz]

What particular area of the state are solar leases being executed in?

[camoclad]

We are having one built on us as well. As others stated hire an attorney. They will do an option period, typically we have seen 4 years at $10/ acre to decide if they want to build or not. That being said we have had battery station have a 4 year option and they built it the first year. You could try to get more for the money for the option period, but that’s a toss up. The bad thing about the option is if some other company wanted to build in that same location then they can’t go into contract with you until the option period is up and then you run the risk of the company you have now of not building, so you can get kind of “screwed”. This has happened to us..Our contract covers that after the 30 year period they have a chance to renew contract or they must clear the land and plant native grass/restore the land. We have transmission lines, battery stations, wind turbines, power stations and now in a solar contract. They all have there different guidelines, but the option period is pretty standard. I’ve never seen them pay a total sum for the lease. Ours have always been paid yearly.
Do you know how much you’re getting per acre?

Getting hit up for a battery storage location. Going into year 2 of the option period. Has me a little concerned about the viability of the proposed agreement if it's taken this long for the due diligence....

How has your battery agreements gone? In general terms..

[TeamAmerica]

Make certain the taxes are covered as I would guess that the CAD might be likely to remove AG on the portion of the property under panels and that could be an eye opener!!

And at the end it would take you 5 more years to get the exemption back possibly?

[Ryan81]

What particular area of the state are solar leases being executed in?

I know north and northeast. I would assume all over but closer to metropolitan areas.


Our lease in Jack county is under contract. Supposedly 10k acres in the deal total but we’ll see if it goes through. They’ve been doing tests and this and that on the property. Can’t fathom how our property is site worthy. Rocky as all get out and tons of timber and mesquite to clear. It will take millions to clear it and get the property ready but I guess when it’s government subsidized it doesn’t matter.


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[BRUTE 23]

We had an offer a while back also. One gotcha I have seen is that they wanted to shut down any o&g leases, pipelines, etc, that would come across the property. Basically, they wanted exclusive surface rights.

Although it was not a bad offer, it was not a good enough offer to do that.

Especially with the preliminary term, where they paid a small amount for the two year option. They could cost you an o&g lease and then not exercise the option.

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[AntlerMax]

If you have not already done so, I would highly suggest you go find a real estate attorney or attorney that deals in land acquisition (easements, fee title and or leases).
Best of luck and hope your family hits a home run.

Rwc

Rwc...

You'd enjoy a visit with Cole these days...

Solar, Wind and Conservation Easements is all he's doing with the law firm he's with...

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