Anyone familiar with BluNrgy? They reached out a couple weeks ago by phone, but I didn't see the VoiceMail till last week. I reached out to them to see what was going on. Sounds like I'm on the perimeter of their primary project site but they are interested in leasing 100% of my 66 acres.

I've been contacted about a surface lease on a piece of property in Leon County. I've got some experience on the oil and gas side, but never seen or dealt with a solar operation.

High level, they're looking at a 40 year surface lease with annual per acre payments with a X% annual increase in the per acre rate. A flat per year fee until their operation commences. They pay the increased property tax that arises from their activity on the land and loss of (in my case) ag exemption. Of course they're claiming end of life site decommissioning and surface restoration.

Part of me wants to say not no but **** no. Then part of me doesn't want to drive out there and look at a sea of solar panels everywhere else, ie use the lease payments to fund another place.

Thoughts? Comments?

Is this the one close to Hilltop Lakes?

No, this one is in more central. Dead center of the square formed by 45, 7, 39, & 977... Centerville, Robbins, Flynn, & Leona

Is your property all grass-land?

Also, if the decommissioning is included in the legal language have an attorney review it to be sure there is escrow or set aside monies and you're protected.

I'm mostly wooded, aside from the transmission line and Enterprise ROW that cuts through the middle. Decommissioning would obviously not be able to include reforestation (certainly not in my lifetime), so I think I'd want timber value if it's going to be clearcut.

Depending on what other parcels are involved there won't be much timber left surrounding if this project happens. I've already had a neighbor clear their land (doesn't show on Google yet), so from a hunting wooded habitat standpoint there is less and less already.

You want timber value now plus X.

X being the value of timber for the number of years they plan on the installation being there. So if it's 60 years 30 year growth x2 for 2 cuts.

What if they aren't around in 40 years? What if they file bankruptcy? Get an equivalent decommissioning fee upfront instead of having them do the decommissioning. Or have them put that amount in an escrow as a deposit that they can get back when the decommissioning is actually done.

We negotiated with a different solar company who was operating in another county near you and wanted to lease some land from us. I had an attorney review the contract, and we made some significant red line changes. Specifically, the company would not agree on reducing the term of years of the lease (they wanted 35 years with option for another 35 years), they would not increase the per acre annual payment to what I thought was more in line with industry standard, and they would not agree to setting aside remediation funds in escrow for when the lease expired. So, in the end we did not sign a contract with them. Most folks signed up and solar panels are on a lot of land around us though.

Happy to answer any questions you have via DM.

From what I've heard, firsthand from a county official at that, the solar projects in Wharton County are not going as well as they hoped. Louise ISD has missed a payment due to them by the company, the company that started the project bankrupted and the company that bought the project has renegotiated the lease payments to less than half of the original contract, and there's an ongoing lawsuit over unpaid invoices for land prep. A friend was approached to lease his land and had an oil and gas lawyer review the contract, they said it was a mess and recommend they not sign, and to sell the land instead of leasing if they did anything. I'd tread lightly.

Solar, similar to oil and gas, has a fairly easy entry point and your experience will be dependent on the company. Do your research on the company. There are quite a few experienced, reputable renewable developers out there that are serious corporations. If you do some web searches and can't find anything on an operating fleet or real confirmation of their history or experience, then be more skeptical. Large solar developers don't like to have tons of leases sitting out not getting used/built. Smaller companies may tie your land up and make you miss out on a real opportunity from a reputable company.

Good luck

That's right. There are alot of "2 guys in a truck" solar developers that want to lease your land and then sell the development rights to a larger renewable company, that actually has the means to take the project to construction.

Make them reimburse you the cost of your lawyers time to review the contract. My company does.

Kenneth_2003 said:

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No, this one is in more central. Dead center of the square formed by 45, 79, 39, & 977... Centerville, Robbins, Flynn, & Leona

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I own land between centerville Flynn and Leona - what county road is this off of?

water turkey said:

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That's right. There are alot of "2 guys in a truck" solar developers that want to lease your land and then sell the development rights to a larger renewable company, that actually has the means to take the project to construction.

Make them reimburse you the cost of your lawyers time to review the contract. My company does.

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Listen to this guy, he knows.

Also, yes in my scenario you'd have to make sure that the money for decommissioning and return the site to prior condition is put away into an account that is activated if the company isn't living up to their end of the deal/goes bankrupt/end of project life.

At this point in time, everyone should have competent people able to review these contracts and demand/require those few basic things.

Aggie_2463 said:

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Kenneth_2003 said:

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No, this one is in more central. Dead center of the square formed by 45, 79, 39, & 977... Centerville, Robbins, Flynn, & Leona

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I own land between centerville Flynn and Leona - what county road is this off of?

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Follow 419 out of Flynn until it dead-ends basically at that powerline. Google says it keesp going... it does not

Kenneth, speaking about the forested portion, being in Leon County, there is a highly contentious amphibian that is known to occur there. That could put the brakes on a project like this QUICKLY.

I think you mean Hwy 7, not 79.

Better tell them they have to lease the minerals also. Actually I don't think they will lease the surface without leasing the minerals.

You definitely should engage an attorney familiar with this type of lease. It is a fast moving legal environment. We used Carl Dore's firm in Katy for help with a similar contract.

No way I would tie up my property with a solar lease. Too many future unknowns and don't want to lose control of my property. Neighbors did a four year solar lease/ feasibility study with a small annual payment per acre but a nice amount annually if it is ever built.

Also make sure there is language that addresses if they go broke how I'm the increased property taxes are paid.

This is an issue in the panhandle where wind farms have gone broke and landowners are stuck with decaying equipment but being taxed at a higher rate.

Say what you want about power lines, pipelines - even windmills.

At least with those three you get use of the land. Solar is a complete takeover of your land and you cant use it for squat. Might as well juat sell it to the company.

Several going in around here, always wonder what it is going to be like in 10 years.

jrbaggie said:

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I think you mean Hwy 7, not 79.

Better tell them they have to lease the minerals also. Actually I don't think they will lease the surface without leasing the minerals.

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You're right. HWY 7...

As to the amphibian, I discussed said amphibian with a friend in relation to the hopeful demise of a certain train.

I do appreciate eveyones commentary. Me and a glass of whiskey are reviewing the lease. Need more whiskey

jtp01 said:

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Also make sure there is language that addresses if they go broke how I'm the increased property taxes are paid.

This is an issue in the panhandle where wind farms have gone broke and landowners are stuck with decaying equipment but being taxed at a higher rate.

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Yeah just look at all the properties in Texas with old abandoned oil/gas wells. Many left old gathering tanks and equipment in our area and filed bankruptcy. You can have any written agreement but sometimes it's impossible to enforce or collect. Then the property owner is left with a mess and depending on some government agency like the Texas RR Commission to help. It's especially a bad deal when the surface owner didn't own the minerals.

Impossible to predict what these solar fields and windmill farms will stick the surface owner with decades from now. Regardless of a well written document.

When you said wooded acreage in that area, the first thing I thought of was that amphibian. It seems that would make developing a solar site tough around there.

That was my thought.

At first I was like oh Leon county… then I was like nah they wouldn't want to pancake a forested site, then I was like INTERESTING.

That's a question you should straight up ask them, is if they are prepared for that and if they'll compensate you for your time if your land can't be used.

I may be stating the obvious but they want access to the transmission line if it cuts through your property. If you are the closest parcel to the transmission line and their project then you have some leverage. They can't move the energy without that line.

They may not be interested in clearing the land and you may be able to just lease a ROW to them for line access and retain access to the remainder. As long as you don't mind the solar project next to your property.

Landman/ROW agent here (See my post about the KM pipeline)

I was asked to go to Iowa in 2021 to do what I thought was Right Of Way work. Turns out they wanted me to approach farmers to try to get Solar leases. I stuck around for about a month and got out. I'm not into being a salesman, for something that I don't believe in. The vibe amongst most of the farmers was definitely not in favor of turning their places into solar farms anyway. This was near Sioux City.

These were 35yr leases with two-10yr addendums, so it was possible for 55yr leases. Read yours carefully.

Not just any place can be used for solar, it has to be relatively close to a transmission line big enough to carry that energy, at least that's what the company wants. So, fairly close to existing infrastructure.

Upside, is that you do get paid. Assuming that it keeps up with inflation.

Downside(s): They come in an sterilize the soil, so nothing can grow around the panels.
You lose the surface use of your land, most likely for the rest of your life and well into your kids lives.
Erosion becomes a factor because of the killing of vegetation etc.

It takes 5-6 acres to make one Megawatt, so they were wanting bigger places.

I have no idea what happens if/when the technology becomes obsolete, or say a Tornado comes in and destroys the place or whatever.

My strong advice to landowners that have viable farm/ranch land, is not to do it. We have numerous ways of making electricity but limited ways of making the food.

The desert out in far west TX or CA is fine. Grass land or where the corn grows, not so much. IMHO.

Not really sure what company sterilizes the soil, although that'd help with keeping vegetation down but...



This is how they are doing them in Fort Bend County. Never actually heard of any solar company nuking the ground - that'd be horrible for erosion and soil stability thus effecting the posts.

I'm not saying solar is the king and should be lauded, just giving an actual example of what I know is going on with things around me (and projects I have worked on).

Was discussing this with a friend this past weekend out west of Quanah.

Solar company wants to lease right now for $300 per acre and he can still use the land until they begin construction. Once solar is in place he said they offer lease terms of $3500 per acre per year.

I asked if he meant $3500 for length of lease, he said NO, $3500 per year.

This is just preliminary, but he is considering giving up a huge percentage of his ranch/farmland for that price.

There are a lot of companies out there that take the soil health and vegetation seriously and take steps to make sure they get good growth in the site. I highly doubt anyone is "sterilizing" the soil. Although I work in the industry, I do have concerns about building solar on producing crop land. Completely takes it out of production for 30+ years; wind is a lot more compatible with agriculture.

I've heard of BluNrgy but don't really know anything about them. I wouldn't do anything without an attorney though, regardless of the developer (even the good ones). I would at least ask if they intend to build/own the project, or if they intend to flip it.

ElephantRider said:

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I highly doubt anyone is "sterilizing" the soil.

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The ones I have seen near where I am currently doing ROW, they do it with film/plastic or whatever, not chemicals.

However, I have heard of chemicals being used on some solar projects that aren't exactly cropland.

Kenneth_2003 said:

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jrbaggie said:

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I think you mean Hwy 7, not 79.

Better tell them they have to lease the minerals also. Actually I don't think they will lease the surface without leasing the minerals.

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You're right. HWY 7...

As to the amphibian, I discussed said amphibian with a friend in relation to the hopeful demise of a certain train.

I do appreciate eveyones commentary. Me and a glass of whiskey are reviewing the lease. Need more whiskey

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The Texas Central Railway that is, and is not, happening, depending on who you ask, was supposed to be relatively close to that big power line. Do you know how far this is from that proposed route?

Solar technology has come a long way. A megawatt system does not need nearly that much surface area. I used to have solar as part of my offerings as a territory manager. And quoted a large system for a processing facility rooftop that would have been a megawatt system. Problem was the installation cost and ROI. I sold the customer against the project and promptly have since sold about 12 million to him in other products.

O.G. said:

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Kenneth_2003 said:

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jrbaggie said:

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I think you mean Hwy 7, not 79.

Better tell them they have to lease the minerals also. Actually I don't think they will lease the surface without leasing the minerals.

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You're right. HWY 7...

As to the amphibian, I discussed said amphibian with a friend in relation to the hopeful demise of a certain train.

I do appreciate eveyones commentary. Me and a glass of whiskey are reviewing the lease. Need more whiskey

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The Texas Central Railway that is, and is not, happening, depending on who you ask, was supposed to be relatively close to that big power line. Do you know how far this is from that proposed route?

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I would have lost 10 acres or so.

ElephantRider said:

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There are a lot of companies out there that take the soil health and vegetation seriously and take steps to make sure they get good growth in the site. I highly doubt anyone is "sterilizing" the soil. Although I work in the industry, I do have concerns about building solar on producing crop land. Completely takes it out of production for 30+ years; wind is a lot more compatible with agriculture.

I've heard of BluNrgy but don't really know anything about them. I wouldn't do anything without an attorney though, regardless of the developer (even the good ones). I would at least ask if they intend to build/own the project, or if they intend to flip it.

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I'm fairly certain they're working on behalf of another outfit. Don't like that part...

I've reached out to an attorney, but I'm not at that point yet. Getting a good list of questions already in my own reading, some of which I see as deal killers

At first they sign everyone up they can with the possibility of solar panels on their land with a annual payment. In reality only a few get panels the rest get some type of infrastructure or even a road across your property for the projects use. Read and reread the lease agreement also take your time and ask for landowners contact information on a project they have constructed previously. I am sharing my experiences based on wind turbine construction on our land in the end we got turbines and many niebhors only got overhead powerlines.

Also on one of our places all they built was a road thru it too the adjoining property they will develop the project in a way that ,makes economic sense to them with zero regard foe your property value. Take your time.