How it all works

For Wind and Solar, the companies will look for several things: An area with larger plots of land that can be "cobbled" together into the size needed for a project. 500-5,000 acres for solar and 5,000 to 15,000+ for wind. Next, they make sure regulations are lax or can be worked around, Then, they make sure they are close to high-voltage transmission lines.

Once the target has been found, letters go out to judge response. They make all sorts of big money promises about how you'll never have to work that land again. If they don't get enough responses they will send contract salespeople door-to-door to try and talk landowners into it. See our other page about landowner rights for more info.

Once they think they have you hooked (without really giving you any legal information) they will have you sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA). Until you sign it, you don't get the real deal info. This NDA includes never being able to disclose anything about the deal, or even that you agreed to a deal. And even if you don't agree to it - you can't disclose any information about it forever. Again, more information on our landowner rights page.

Once you sign on the dotted line and get a small payment, they have full rights to your property. They can send contractors all over it, test or install what they want, and you have no say so. This goes on until the company finds out if they have enough landowners in the bag AND if they get financing. That's right: generally these companies don't get financing until they can prove the project size. If it falls apart, they can end the deal.

Again, it's now their land. Any of your equipment, cattle, etc. will be required to be removed. They can block roads, move heavy machinery, do what they want. Then, the noise from construction can be very loud and go on for months. After it's built, it's locked up (solar) or access controlled (wind) and if there is a catastrophic event, the landowner can only hope it's repaired and the project continues. 

Once a project is discontinued, depending on the contract and when it was built, everything on the property could possibly be left for the landowner to "Salvage" to recover reclamation costs. Texas laws have changed lately but are full of loopholes, so don't expect the developer to return the land to it's original condition. That's now the landowner's problem.