Solar Lease Payments and Royalties in New York

Utility-scale solar plants by county in New York

Livingston County, Montgomery County and Suffolk County have the most utility-scale solar capacity in New York, with 213 MW (AC), 162.9 MW (AC) and 146.3 MW (AC).^[1]

Utility-scale solar plants in New York came online between 2011 and 2025.^[1]

The table lists the 42 counties with at least 20 MW (AC) in total, each with its own page.^[1] Counties with less than 20 MW (AC) in total: Wyoming County (17.6 MW), Westchester County (16.1 MW), Schuyler County (14.6 MW), Lewis County (13.5 MW), Herkimer County (13 MW), Broome County (12.7 MW), Seneca County (9 MW), Richmond County (7.6 MW), Franklin County (7.2 MW) and Warren County (6.9 MW).^[1] Also with less than 20 MW (AC) in total: Rockland County (4 MW), Delaware County (2.3 MW), Queens County (2.2 MW), Otsego County (2 MW) and Nassau County (1.8 MW).^[1]

Source: U.S. Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database (USGS, LBNL), version 4.0, released April 14, 2026. Data compiled November 1, 2026.

How solar leases pay

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.^[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.^[3] Solar lease agreements can last 20 to 30 years.^[4]

Solar leases in New York

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.^[5]

What you sell and what you keep

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.^[3] The land can be converted back to agricultural uses at the end of the installation's operational life.^[2]

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

Selling Solar Lease Payments and Solar Royalties

Mineral rights in New York

Wind Royalties and Lease Payments in New York

Sources

[1] U.S. Large-Scale Solar Photovoltaic Database (version 4.0, released April 14, 2026) — U.S. Geological Survey and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (accessed November 1, 2026)

[2] Farmer's Guide to Going Solar — U.S. Department of Energy (accessed November 1, 2026)

[3] Farmland Owner's Guide to Solar Leasing — Ohio State University Extension and the National Agricultural Law Center (accessed November 1, 2026)

[4] Solar Lease Considerations for Landowners — Texas A&M AgriLife Extension (accessed November 1, 2026)

[5] Planning for Offsite Solar Energy Projects (Issue Paper Series, example solar lease) — New York State Tug Hill Commission (accessed November 1, 2026)