I would say no. Here is why.

*ugly and take a lot of space

*would be on property in perpetuity

*harmful effects to wildlife. Read about the one in California that vaporizes birds and airplanes have to divert around it.

*what happens when you are no longer getting paid and the panels are still on your property?

Don't do it - it's unreliable and ruins the planet

I've worked on several of these for clients over the last 3 years. Several clients decided against them after negotiating the lease agreement for 12-18 months. All of my clients that ultimately signed the lease did so on secondary properties….not their home place. It was too hard for them to turn down the money. Running cattle was getting old or the lease money from the rancher wasn't much compared to what the solar company was offering to pay. Every lease I've seen has two different terms. The first term is 2-3 years and the pay is low. The second term is when construction is commenced, and the annual pay increases by 20-25x. It's not guaranteed thay the second term ever commences. The leases can last 35-50 years. My biggest concern is the state of the property after the leases terminate and the viability of the solar company or their bonding company when it's time to clean things up. These solar farms don't make financial sense without all of the government incentives.

Most of these solar farms require the company to put money in an account for decommissioning and clean up costs. If you sign, I would make sure you have those funds secured.

No quicker way to alienate your neighbors. Like others said it will have a detrimental effect on wildlife. It will also be a constant eyesore to those that live nearby, and could have a negative effect on neighboring property values.

Stringfellow Hawke said:

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I would say no. Here is why.

*ugly and take a lot of space

*would be on property in perpetuity

*harmful effects to wildlife. Read about the one in California that vaporizes birds and airplanes have to divert around it.

*what happens when you are no longer getting paid and the panels are still on your property?

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30 to 40 year lease, not perpetuity.

This is PV Solar, not concentrated. No vaporized birds.

Require a decommissioning provision and bond in lease agreement. Many counties require decomm bond already.

I agree with Stringfellow. A couple that goes to our church has their family farm up in northwest MO. They agreed to a large solar farm. They clear cut his acreage of course but annually they spray a total grass and weed killer on the entire area and it kills most of the vegetation. This created silt to go into a 4 acre lake they had on the property. Supposedly they have been arguing with the company but no one will take responsibility. This is 2nd hand info so don't know all of the actual facts.
They just said the money has not offset their worry and grief and in hindsight they wish they never would have done it.

Unless you have a provision to run sheep, don't do it.

Run away quickly.

flipper94 said:

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We have been approached to lease some land to a solar farm. Location is east texas. Does anyone have any experience with this or a recommendation for a resource where I can learn more about this? Other than pics I've seen of huuuuuge solar panel fields, I don't know much about how this works. Total clear cut? Legit? Options?

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Are you near Henderson? I can show you some land cleared for solar, though not yet in place. Can send you some pics if not.

In a nut shell they own the land you pay the property taxes.

If you are ever near Sealy, go to the intersection of 36 and 3013. A couple of hundred yards on 3013 you will see a solar farm. Looks like crap, grown over, broken panels everywhere and not taken care of. There are several others in Austin county that look the same.

JD05AG said:

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Unless you have a provision to run sheep, don't do it.

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Funny you mention that.

I was talking to a guy several weeks ago and he was bidding on a vegetation control contract for a big solar farm in central Texas.

The solar company was going to pay so much per acre for him to run sheep on the property when the vegetation was growing in order to keep it down. The downside to that was that he had to move them off the property during the fall and winter because the sheep wouldn't have anything to eat.

Also, he mentioned having to buy a side sickle bar cutter that would cut under some elevated panels (I don't know why the sheep wouldn't eat there too), but told me that you couldn't just put 'any jake' on the tractor because if they hit one of the solar panels or the support equipment it would be costly.

I asked him about chemical control of the vegetation and he claimed at the price the solar company was willing to pay you couldn't justify the cost of the herbicides and application.

I don't know if he got the bid. I don't know anything about sheep. And I don't know whether he knew what he was talking about, FWIW.

water turkey said:

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Stringfellow Hawke said:

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I would say no. Here is why.

*ugly and take a lot of space

*would be on property in perpetuity

*harmful effects to wildlife. Read about the one in California that vaporizes birds and airplanes have to divert around it.

*what happens when you are no longer getting paid and the panels are still on your property?

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30 to 40 year lease, not perpetuity.

This is PV Solar, not concentrated. No vaporized birds.

Require a decommissioning provision and bond in lease agreement. Many counties require decomm bond already.

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For all intents and purposes, 30-40 year leases are pretty much a lifetime in many cases pending on the age of the client.

Lawyers I know with offers on their own land have outright refused. The holding period without any guarantee beyond a small lease amount has not been enough.

If guys (or girls) who get paid to meddle in stuff like that are refusing then that's about all you need to know

Lots of fearmongering on this thread. I've done lots of solar leases and would be happy to give OP some background info.


*harmful effects to wildlife. Read about the one in California that vaporizes birds and airplanes have to divert around it.

Ivanpah concentrating solar thermal plant:


You won't see a plant like that in Texas. My favorite line about solar is someone in NC (I think) claimed that a solar farm was sucking up all the sunlight in his town.

rme said:

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Lots of fearmongering on this thread. I've done lots of solar leases and would be happy to give OP some background info.


*harmful effects to wildlife. Read about the one in California that vaporizes birds and airplanes have to divert around it.

Ivanpah concentrating solar thermal plant:


You won't see a plant like that in Texas. My favorite line about solar is someone in NC (I think) claimed that a solar farm was sucking up all the sunlight in his town.

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Lots of zero information in your post beyond "I do this".

Anything you want to share without emailing you? I mean if I had good info that would bring customers to talk with me about my services I'd post something a lot better... just saying

First picture is before solar goes in. Second picture is after solar is installed. This was in IL, last year.

I also know a lawyer that was made an offer on land that his family owns and he refused because of the contracts. I'm a landmand and I refuse to do Solar projects.

Out in the middle of the desert, sure go to it. Where the food is produced, including cattle....not so much.

This is more like it.

You'd be better off turning your land into a landfill

rme said:

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Lots of fearmongering on this thread. I've done lots of solar leases and would be happy to give OP some background info.


*harmful effects to wildlife. Read about the one in California that vaporizes birds and airplanes have to divert around it.

Ivanpah concentrating solar thermal plant:


You won't see a plant like that in Texas. My favorite line about solar is someone in NC (I think) claimed that a solar farm was sucking up all the sunlight in his town.

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Who gives a shoot about the vaporized bird story not happening in Texas. It's still bad for the environment AND most importantly not a viable long term energy source.

Immense amount of studies and survey work is done on the leased area in order to peotect and maintain any wildlife. No vaporizing of birds and does not divert airplanes. Counties require decommissioning bonds, which means money is put aside upfront to decommission the facility after 30 years. It is not a pleasing site and some small noise when the panels turn. Will say though, it is a great revenue source for the farmer if it is considered. Most of the negstive comments on here are generic takes and myths on why solar is bad. There are many farmers across the country leasing out sites with no problems. Negotiate a strong land lease contract with protections and is well worth it. Talk to others who had leased land for wind in west texas, which is much more capital and visually intensive.

Both wind and solar devastate the aesthetics of the land.
When I was working in West Texas and the Panhandle, the land and Plateaus were the same as they had been for centuries, now they look like crap with all the Turbines covering the Plateaus and solar panels covering entire sections of land.

Doc Hayworth said:

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Both wind and solar devastate the aesthetics of the land.
When I was working in West Texas and the Panhandle, the land and Plateaus were the same as they had been for centuries, now they look like crap with all the Turbines covering the Plateaus and solar panels covering entire sections of land.

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A 1000 pump jacks do the same.

I'm not pro-green energy, but the emotional hysterics on this thread are sad.