A farm I'm affiliated with in Maryland was approached by a solar developer looking to turn 10 acres (level) of it into a solar field.<p>I want to make sure that we're getting a fair deal with good contract terms. They are asking for exclusive rights to the land (much larger than their 10 acres) for a 25 year term. I also don't know how to begin researching competitive pricing for a project like this. We will be leasing the land.
The first step is to decide if you're really interested in selling the land, since that's the closest thing to "exclusive rights" for 25 years that most people have as a point of reference. Then decide if you're better off selling the land, which you might be since a lessee can leave behind a toxic pit of hurt and your recourse will be squeezing blood from a stone while paying for compliance.<p>The next step is rudimentary due diligence. Ask for a list of portfolio projects that demonstrate a track record of success with similar development projects. The thing to know is that you don't want to deal with amateur developers or professional grifters (or amateur grifters for that matter).<p>Lastly (relative to before the beginning). If you decide you want to "sell", talk to a real estate attorney...or rather your real estate attorney. Putting "solar development" on your land may not even be legal (though it might) and the terms offered by a "solar developer" may not be very good (though there's a slim chance they are).<p>To put it another way, real estate development is about floating ideas and seeing what sticks and then it's often a matter of being overly optimistic when spending other people's money. To a first approximation, most real-estate development deals don't happen.<p>Good luck.
One way to source market price benchmarks is to start shopping for a good commercial property/farm lease attorney in Maryland.<p>Try the State Bar for a referral, ask for any specialists in solar ><a href="http://www.msba.org/default.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.msba.org/default.aspx</a><p>Then ping the attorney, ask for a brief 10-15 minute call. You may be surprised to find some helpful ones. Those will be the individuals you shortlist for a retainer. More importantly, a good attorney will help protect your lessor rights.
A lot of solar development is compatible with other uses. This is the appeal of putting solar on farmland: It is common to be able to graze animals in the same area.<p>I would think of this like mineral rights. Mineral rights on land is distinct from other uses of the land and can be sold separately.<p>If there is a lot of money at stake, consider taking the contract to a lawyer specialized in land use laws. I would do everything in my power to lease them only exclusive rights to developing the solar potential of the land and keep the right to also do other things with the land that do not interfere with their solar power development.
To be clear, they are asking to lease >10 acres of land for 25 years, but only plan on using 10 acres of it for solar panels? Is the extra acreage for access roads and power lines?<p>Are they going to start a competing farm? :P