Quick answer
A residential solar lease is a different arrangement: the consumer hosts a solar energy system owned by a solar company and makes fixed monthly payments.[4] In a solar land lease, the developer leases the land for the project and pays the landowner, usually an annual amount per acre.[1] Texas A&M AgriLife's solar lease guide notes that a solar farm often requires many continuously placed panels that prevent other uses of the surface, and it evaluates a solar lease on the basis that the lease payment may be the only income from the leased land.[1]
Solar companies are actively searching for agricultural land to lease to build solar projects.[1] Unlike oil and gas lease agreements, it is uncommon for a solar lease agreement to offer a royalty as the payment method; instead, annual payment terms are usually defined in dollars per acre.[1] Federal guidance for farmers describes solar lease payments as typically structured as a fixed annual or monthly fee per acre, or as a percentage of the energy generated by the solar panels.[3]
The amount of the payments is likely to vary by lease period, with rent at its lowest during an option period and at its highest when the facility is operating and producing energy.[2] Rent during the operations period will likely include an inflation adjustment, which may be tied to a measure like the Consumer Price Index or set at a fixed rate.[2] Predictable annual payments can provide income and stability to a farm operation.[2]
If a separate option to lease does not already exist, a solar lease includes an option period, the time the developer has to determine whether the project will move forward.[2] Some developers pay a lump sum for the option period, some pay a bonus plus an annual rental payment, and some pay only an annual rental amount.[2] The development or construction period typically begins once the developer announces that the project will proceed, which is commonly called exercising the option.[2]
The solar operations period is the longest period in the lease and is usually described as the time during which energy is produced at the site.[2] The operations period may last 20 years or more, and solar lease agreements can tie up property for 20 to 30 years.[1] Renewals are at the option of the developer, and renewal terms vary among solar leases from about five to 20 years.[2] A cleanup period gives the developer a set time to remove the equipment and restore the land, typically around 12 months depending on project size.[2]
Texas's solar power facility agreement law, Utilities Code Chapter 302, applies only to agreements entered into on or after September 1, 2021; an earlier agreement is governed by the law as it existed before that date.[10] Chapter 302 as amended in 2025 by H.B. 3228 applies only to agreements entered into on or after September 1, 2025; an agreement entered into before that date is governed by the law as it existed immediately before it.[11] In Texas, an agreement covered by Chapter 302 for a solar power facility that is a generation asset must make the grantee responsible for removing its solar power facilities from the landowner's property.[5] The Texas agreement must also require the grantee to deliver financial assurance for that removal, such as a parent company guaranty, a letter of credit or a bond.[5] Land can be converted back to agricultural uses at the end of a solar installation's operational life, roughly 30 years.[3]
Texas law counts a battery energy storage facility that supports a solar energy device as part of the solar power facility covered by the solar agreement.[5] Under a 2025 Texas law, a solar power facility agreement entered into on or after September 1, 2025 that authorizes a battery energy storage facility, meaning a battery energy storage resource with a capacity of one megawatt hour or greater as the law defines it, must also make the grantee responsible for recycling or properly disposing of the battery components.[12] Sheep are grazed at some solar facilities, and most standard utility-scale panel heights can accommodate sheep grazing.[3]
A solar project could affect whether Texas land qualifies for special agricultural or open-space valuation for property taxes.[1] A solar lease can include terms that address property taxes related to the project.[1]
A solar lease will usually include a confidentiality provision, which often starts by protecting the lease's financial and payment terms.[2] A confidentiality provision also usually continues beyond the end of the lease.[2]
Solar companies looking at a site carefully analyze the status of the mineral and groundwater estates, including whether a lease is already in place.[1] Texas A&M AgriLife's guide for landowners recommends against the surface owner serving as a middleman or negotiator between solar and mineral lessees, particularly without a relationship with the mineral or groundwater owners.[1] In Oklahoma, the lessee of a wind or solar energy agreement may not unreasonably interfere with the mineral owner's right to make reasonable use of the surface to produce minerals.[15]
Under Kansas law, apart from leases and easements recorded before July 1, 2011, no one but the surface owner may use land to produce wind or solar energy unless the surface owner grants that right by lease or easement for a definite period.[6] South Dakota bars severing wind or solar energy rights from the surface estate but allows them to be leased for up to fifty years, with lease payments made annually.[13] Nebraska provides that no interest in a wind or solar resource on a tract of land may be severed from the surface estate.[14]
In 2025, Texas accounted for the largest share of total U.S. utility-scale solar electricity generation, followed by California.[7] Utility-scale power plants have at least one megawatt of electricity generation capacity.[7] Ground-mounted solar arrays in Texas require an average of 6.9 acres per megawatt of capacity.[8]
Project stage: if the developer does not give notice or begin construction by the end of the option period, the lease likely terminates.[2]
Lease phase: rental rates are usually lower in the development phase than in the operations phase.[1]
Inflation adjustment: operations rent often adjusts each year, tied to a measure like the Consumer Price Index or set at a fixed rate.[2]
Remaining term: the total time land is under lease is found by adding all of the lease periods together, and in one example that total reached 48 years.[2]
Renewals: extensions are at the developer's option, and some leases allow two or three renewal periods.[2]
Equipment life: solar panels reach end of life after about 30 years.[8]
What Buckhead buys depends on the deal, and Buckhead tells the seller up front which interest it is offering to buy — for example, the payments for the rest of the current lease term, a term easement, or a longer-term interest. Solar rent is paid period by period, the operations period may last 20 years or more, and renewals are at the developer's option.[2] Kansas law lets the surface owner grant the right to produce solar energy by lease or easement for a definite period.[6]
A solar farm often places panels continuously across the leased area, which prevents other uses of that surface during the lease.[1] The land can be converted back to agricultural uses at the end of the installation's operational life.[3]
Buckhead Energy buys solar lease payments and solar royalties. A solar lease typically describes the location and amount of property it covers.[2] Kansas requires every instrument that conveys an interest created by a wind or solar lease or easement to describe the land and the terms under which the lease or easement was granted or may end.[6] The Farmland Owner's Guide to Solar Leasing, from Ohio State University Extension and the National Agricultural Law Center, recommends accounts and procedures for rental payments, with records that show whether every payment due under the lease was received.[2]
Some solar leases limit what the landowner may do with the payments: an example lease published by a New York State commission bars the landowner from severing the lease payments or assigning them to a third party without the developer's consent.[9] The same example lease provides that when an interest in the land passes to an heir, successor or assign, the payments, or a proportionate share of them, go to that party.[9] It also requires the landowner to sign estoppel certificates and consents to assignment that are reasonably necessary or that the developer or its lenders request.[9] Because of the complex nature and extensive length of these agreements, an attorney experienced with solar leases should review them.[1]
Alabama (667.5 MW (AC))
Arizona (5,487.1 MW (AC))
Arkansas (1,795.2 MW (AC))
California (22,871.5 MW (AC))
Colorado (2,362.6 MW (AC))
Connecticut (456.2 MW (AC))
Delaware (95.3 MW (AC))
Florida (11,622 MW (AC))
Georgia (5,364.4 MW (AC))
Hawaii (623.6 MW (AC))
Idaho (702 MW (AC))
Illinois (3,215.3 MW (AC))
Indiana (3,761.1 MW (AC))
Iowa (677.7 MW (AC))
Kansas (278.2 MW (AC))
Kentucky (794.3 MW (AC))
Louisiana (1,242.9 MW (AC))
Maine (832.9 MW (AC))
Maryland (697.2 MW (AC))
Massachusetts (1,454.7 MW (AC))
Michigan (1,746.2 MW (AC))
Minnesota (1,596.6 MW (AC))
Mississippi (1,470.1 MW (AC))
Missouri (915.4 MW (AC))
Montana (179 MW (AC))
Nebraska (134.8 MW (AC))
Nevada (4,759.1 MW (AC))
New Jersey (1,196.7 MW (AC))
New Mexico (2,600.1 MW (AC))
New York (2,749.7 MW (AC))
North Carolina (6,694.6 MW (AC))
Ohio (4,088.8 MW (AC))
Oklahoma (276.5 MW (AC))
Oregon (1,212.5 MW (AC))
Pennsylvania (1,016.5 MW (AC))
Rhode Island (426.2 MW (AC))
South Carolina (1,645.5 MW (AC))
South Dakota (209 MW (AC))
Tennessee (586.9 MW (AC))
Texas (23,033 MW (AC))
Utah (2,117.7 MW (AC))
Vermont (150.4 MW (AC))
Virginia (4,707.9 MW (AC))
Washington (267.4 MW (AC))
West Virginia (140.4 MW (AC))
Wisconsin (2,339.5 MW (AC))
Wyoming (230 MW (AC))
Mineral Rights vs. Surface Rights
Educational information only — not legal, tax, or investment advice. Consult a qualified attorney, CPA, or landman about your specific situation.
Buckhead Energy buys solar lease payments and solar royalties. Solar lease payments are usually annual amounts set per acre under a lease that can run 20 to 30 years.[1]
Buckhead Energy buys solar lease payments and solar royalties. Whether the payments can be separated from the land depends on the lease: an example solar lease published by a New York State commission bars the landowner from severing the lease payments or assigning them to a third party without the developer's consent.[9] Some states limit severance: South Dakota bars severing wind or solar energy rights from the surface estate, though they may be leased.[13]
The lease controls: an example solar lease published by a New York State commission bars the landowner from severing the payments or assigning them to a third party without the developer's consent.[9] That example lease also requires the landowner to sign estoppel certificates and consents to assignment requested by the developer or its lenders.[9]
The payment amount usually differs by lease period, with rent at its lowest during an option period and at its highest while the facility operates.[2] Operations rent will likely include an inflation adjustment, and adding all of the lease periods together shows how long the payments can run.[2]
In an example solar lease published by a New York State commission, when an interest in the land passes to an heir, legal representative, successor or assign, the payments, or a proportionate share of them, go to that party.[9]
It is uncommon for a solar lease agreement to offer a royalty; annual payment terms are usually defined per acre instead.[1] Some leases are structured to pay a percentage of the energy the solar panels generate.[3]
Solar lease payments are typically a fixed annual or monthly fee per acre, or a percentage of the energy generated.[3] Rent is likely lowest during an option period and highest when the facility is operating and producing energy.[2] Some developers also pay a lump sum or bonus for the option period.[2]
Solar lease agreements can last 20 to 30 years.[1] Adding the option, development, operations and renewal periods together gives the total time the land is under lease, which reached 48 years in one example lease.[2]
Many leases include a cleanup period, typically around 12 months, for the developer to remove equipment and restore the land.[2] In Texas, a solar power facility agreement entered into on or after September 1, 2021 for a facility that is a generation asset must make the grantee responsible for removing its facilities and must require financial assurance for that removal.[10]
[1] Solar Lease Considerations for Landowners — Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (accessed November 3, 2026)
[2] Farmland Owner's Guide to Solar Leasing — Ohio State University Extension and the National Agricultural Law Center (accessed November 3, 2026)
[3] Farmer's Guide to Going Solar — U.S. Department of Energy (accessed November 1, 2026)
[4] Homeowner's Guide to Going Solar — U.S. Department of Energy (accessed November 1, 2026)
[5] Texas Utilities Code, Chapter 302: Solar Power Facility Agreements — Texas Legislature (accessed November 1, 2026)
[6] K.S.A. 58-2272: Instruments conveying interest involving wind or solar resources and technologies — Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes (accessed November 1, 2026)
[7] Solar explained: Where solar is found and used — U.S. Energy Information Administration (accessed November 1, 2026)
[8] Understanding Alternative Energy: Wind and Solar Energy Systems on Texas Rangelands — Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (accessed November 1, 2026)
[9] Planning for Offsite Solar Energy Projects (Issue Paper Series, example solar lease) — New York State Tug Hill Commission (accessed November 1, 2026)
[10] S.B. 760 (87th Legislature, 2021), enrolled: solar power facility agreements — Texas Legislature (accessed November 3, 2026)
[11] H.B. 3228 (89th Legislature, 2025), enrolled: wind and solar power facility lease provisions — Texas Legislature (accessed November 3, 2026)
[12] H.B. 3809 (89th Legislature, 2025), enrolled: removal of battery energy storage facilities — Texas Legislature (accessed November 3, 2026)
[13] South Dakota Codified Laws 43-13-19: Severance of wind or solar energy rights limited — South Dakota Legislature (accessed November 1, 2026)
[14] Nebraska Revised Statute 76-3004: Interest in wind or solar resource; restriction on severance — Nebraska Legislature (accessed November 1, 2026)
[15] Oklahoma Statutes, Title 52, Section 803 (Exploration Rights Act of 2011) — Oklahoma Legislature (accessed November 1, 2026)
Buckhead Energy buys solar lease payments and solar royalties.
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