Solar leasing

[quicksandfarmer]

I got an interesting letter in the mail last week. It was from a company looking to lease land to install solar panels. I think they must have gotten my name from going through the land records. They said they're looking to lease land, looking for a minimum of 12 acres, flat and clear, with access to a road and power lines.

I'm not really interested, but what caught my eye was that they were offering "up to" $3500/acre per year. That's a pretty princely sum for agricultural land around here.

 

[DKCDKC]

It is apparently a growing phenomena. Big controversy here in the Shenandoah Valley. Solar folks want to install huge solar farm over some of the best farmland around - nice and flat. Neighbors are fighting it, but it means real money for some landowners. Fate of solar facility to be decided next week

If the nation is going to undertake as much alternative energy as some folks want, a lot of good land will become unusable. I can understand the desire for solar, but why not put it on some rocky terrain instead of nice flat rich farmland...

 

[coldsteelva]

It is apparently a growing phenomena. Big controversy here in the Shenandoah Valley. Solar folks want to install huge solar farm over some of the best farmland around - nice and flat. Neighbors are fighting it, but it means real money for some landowners. Fate of solar facility to be decided next week

If the nation is going to undertake as much alternative energy as some folks want, a lot of good land will become unusable. I can understand the desire for solar, but why not put it on some rocky terrain instead of nice flat rich farmland...

Hey there from Northern VA. The problem with the 'neighbors' is that they are trying to dictate what happens with land that THEY don't own. That is downright preposterous. Small scale agriculture is all but dead and if the only way for farmland to make money is for the owners to 'farm' solar then so be it.

 

[fishheadbob]

The offer I got was 20 or 30 years at $3,000 per acre. They were pretty deep into their due diligence when they finally noticed I didn't have 3 phase electric to pipe the electricity into the grid. I had zero problems with their offer, at the end of the lease they were to remove the equipment and the farmland reverted to me. They did sign a friend of mine one town over to this deal, his town immediately passed a 2 year moratorium on solar farms while they study things. The same company is trying to get a 20 acre site going on a farm in another nearby township that recently had a big coal fired plant go belly up; they seem much closer to beginning construction but are of course getting sued by NIMBY groups opposed to the plan.
Personally I don't see negatives to their concept. The land they were interested in was pretty crummy, grade 4 soil that wouldn't have grossed more than 3 or 4 thousand dollars annually for all 20 acres. It wasn't very visible to neighbors or from the highway. I have noticed one or two of these installations in traveling the country, and most folks don't know they are there. I actually and honestly was considering upgrades to my drainage and equipment using some of the rental money to make my remaining acreage more productive.
Production of most energy is a dirty process and is hard on the environment. A solar farm is probably the least destructive option, but someone is always going to be opposed. My acreage also sits over 2 different geological formations, Medina Sands and Utica Shale. Both are known to be good candidates for hydrofracking, but this is New York and those formations aren't going to be drilled for decades if ever as we all watch what big oil has done to the environment in nearby Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
We all like cheap energy; I pay $1.79 for regular on a nearby reservation, and an average of 13 cents per kwh in N.Y., not known for cheap prices. The problem is that to have cheap, domestic energy we have to endure some tradeoffs which we aren't always willing to face.

 

[TheMan419]

Good grief. At those prices they could have bought the land in just a couple of years!

 

[LouNY]

These solar leases seem like a good way to go if a person has the right location.
One thing to watch out for, and it seems like the ones around here have covered
is the increase in property taxs as the property gets reassessed.

 

[fishheadbob]

I also wondered why they didn't make a purchase offer. This place isn't worth what they were offering in lease payments.

 

[CobyRupert]

These solar leases seem like a good way to go if a person has the right location.
One thing to watch out for, and it seems like the ones around here have covered
is the increase in property taxs as the property gets reassessed.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

As part of being reclassified from agricultural land to something else.

Also look at who cleans it up and removes at end of panel's lifespan. Are they bonded?

Also, and I don't have the specifics, but it seems there was catch on the right to sell your land, or pass it on to inheritors, or who gets first option to buy.

 

[Jchonline]

Right now the only places that recycle the silica panels are overseas. If it were me I would write mandatory recycling into any agreement I signed. Also property taxes might be the issue. You want to know what they are increasing to before signing.

 

[NorTracNY]

These places are getting government money to help. They don't want to buy the land because they don't want to own it. In NY, the taxes on the land is ridiculous. For those fortunate to be contacted by these companies, congratulations. Read the paperwork carefully and ensure you have an attorney review them before signing. I'm aware of someone that was given over $10,000 by one of these companies just to move forward with planning to put in a system. That company decided not to in the end, but the person is richer from it. Now a new place has contacted them and they are being offered even more money. It's just sad that the government is giving these small companies the money to make this attractive to them.

I have panels on my house and I thank you all for paying for them. It's sad how much we are taxed and how the money is wasted.

Oh, as for people that brought up assessment. In NYS, there are not assessment taxes allowed on solar panels.