Why Solar Developers
Buy Mineral Rights?
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Why Do Solar Farms Buy Mineral Rights?
With the expansion of solar farms, this situation is becoming more and more common.
Basic Primer on Mineral Rights
All property starts off as "fee simple" property (ownership of the surface and the minerals). When oil and gas were discovered, it became popular to sever the mineral rights from the surface, creating two separate estates with two chains of title.
So, How Does This Impact Solar Developers?
In many states, the mineral estate is dominant, giving the mineral owner the right to use as much of the surface as necessary to develop the minerals.
This could be a nightmare for a solar farm. Just imagine spending millions of dollars to build a solar power plant only to have an oil or gas well drilled in the middle of the property! Not only does this necessitate the removal of some panels, but the well equipment will likely cast shadows, reducing the production for the entire solar power plant.
To eliminate this potential issue, solar developers will often attempt to purchase the mineral rights under any property where they plan to install solar panels. In fact, they will often purchase the mineral rights to adjacent properties to avoid the chance that a shadow will be cast across their panels!
What Are Mineral Rights Worth?
If your mineral rights are not located in oil and gas states, they may not have much value.
But that's not always the case and you don't have to sell your mineral rights to the solar developer. You can see them to anyone (including us)! Or choose not to sell them at all.
What if I Don't Like Their Offer?
However, if you only own a fraction of the mineral rights, and the developer purchases enough of the rights from other owners, the solar farm can be installed even if you don't sell your mineral rights!
The greater percentage of mineral rights you own, the more leverage you have.
Your most powerful negotiating tool may be letting the solar company know that they aren't the only game in town.
It would be a bit risky for us to buy your mineral rights - particularly if they are in states where there is very little oil and gas development. However, we are willing to do some research and potentially make you an offer.
How to Sell Your Mineral Rights
Our 4-Step Process
Fill out the inquiry form and and we'll be happy to evaluate your mineral rights.
Send us the last few months of royalty statements and any supporting documents (leases, deeds, division orders etc.). If you don't have, them don't worry - we can work around that.
We will review and appraise your mineral rights and provide you with a competitive offer.
Why Sell?
Why People Sell Their Minerals Rights:
I am putting my affairs in order. I don't want to burden my kids with the hassle of transferring ownership and managing small mineral rights. When my sister passed away, my niece and nephew had to hire an attorney to help them with the minerals. I don't want my kids to go through that.
My oil wells have been producing for decades and the reserves are almost depleted. Once the wells are plugged, the value will be significantly lower. I'd rather cash out now.
I inherited mineral rights, but don't want to be involved with fracking and fossil fuels. I would prefer to support renewable energy and do my part to reverse climate change.
It doesn't make sense to split a small royalty among my three kids - it's just too small. These mineral rights made my grandparents wealthy. But now, after being passed down through three generations, each of us owns a small fraction of what our grandparents owned. Also, the wells aren't producing as they used to and several have already been plugged.