Solar Farms

[Coosh71]

We have wind farms all over now up in the Texas panhandle. And we noticed a few weeks ago there's a company in Amarillo making the turbines now. Have one lock rancher that has 2 phases of turbines up already with a plan for 2 more. I guess the positive (other than the $) would be that you can still graze your grass. These folks are independently (oil) wealthy, and he told me doesn't make sense to pass that kind of money up. Hard to argue with.

 

[JMJ Farms]

$1200/acre/year on a 40 year lease. How can you refuse?

Want to see me sell the cows? Offer me that. I will even put panels in the front yard for that price, under a cell tower if they want to put one.

 

[TexasBred]

[/quote]

Not unlike the non stop sound of a pumpjack. You do get use to it. :nod: :lol2:

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Not unlike the non stop sound of a pumpjack. You do get use to it. :nod: :lol2:
[/quote]

The gas powered pumpjacks take some real getting use to.

 

[greybeard]

The gas powered pumpjacks take some real getting use to.

I kinda miss those old hit and miss Ajax and Arrow engines. Used to be one about 2 miles from me and it lulled me off to sleep lots of nights.
You used to could buy them for junk iron prices, but now, collectors have driven the price of them up to more than what they cost new in the 40s and 50s.

 

[cowgirl8]

I was reading that another thing the wind farm get complaints on is shadows... I can see how shadows of the blades moving would drive me nuts. So lucky we aren't in a wind area...
But, interesting things are happening out here... more on it later....

 

[hurleyjd]

If they leased my property for "x" $$ a month per acre I'd expect that regardless of whether they put a farm on the land or did anything else with it. No different than oil and gas I'd think. If I'm in the pool I get paid based on the lease terms.

Not sure about solar rights but I have seen tell of landowners out in Nolan County reserving their wind rights for turbines.
(Those things are noisy as he// if you get within 200 yards of them. A slow but constant "whoosh! whoosh! whoosh whoosh!!" every time a blade makes it's lower 180 degree pass. Farther away, you don't hear the individual blades but just a dull "HUUUUMMMM" sound that never stops)
I took this picture in Nolan County about 8 years ago from the side of the road not far from the wind farm's visitor center. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, I heard the "HUUUMMMMM".

Any retained property rights by deed has value and should be added to the tax rolls and taxed. If it did have value then why retain it.

 

[greybeard]

"Any retained property rights by deed has value and should be added to the tax rolls and taxed.
It's like stock investments tho...only has a tangible value or taxed if/when it's used.
Next thing you know, someone somewhere will be wanting to increase someone's property value and tax it simply because the sun shines on it.

 

[hurleyjd]

"Any retained property rights by deed has value and should be added to the tax rolls and taxed.
It's like stock investments tho...only has a tangible value or taxed if/when it's used.
Next thing you know, someone somewhere will be wanting to increase someone's property value and tax it simply because the sun shines on it.

It can get to the point that as time goes one there can be hundreds of heirs to the mineral interest that was retained.Can become a land man's nightmare if the minerals need to be produced. The mineral estate is the dominant estate in Texas.

 

[greybeard]

"Any retained property rights by deed has value and should be added to the tax rolls and taxed.
It's like stock investments tho...only has a tangible value or taxed if/when it's used.
Next thing you know, someone somewhere will be wanting to increase someone's property value and tax it simply because the sun shines on it.

It can get to the point that as time goes one there can be hundreds of heirs to the mineral interest that was retained.Can become a land man's nightmare if the minerals need to be produced. The mineral estate is the dominant estate in Texas.

Yep, but he CHOSE that profession.

 

[TexasBred]

If they leased my property for "x" $$ a month per acre I'd expect that regardless of whether they put a farm on the land or did anything else with it. No different than oil and gas I'd think. If I'm in the pool I get paid based on the lease terms.

Not sure about solar rights but I have seen tell of landowners out in Nolan County reserving their wind rights for turbines.
(Those things are noisy as he// if you get within 200 yards of them. A slow but constant "whoosh! whoosh! whoosh whoosh!!" every time a blade makes it's lower 180 degree pass. Farther away, you don't hear the individual blades but just a dull "HUUUUMMMM" sound that never stops)
I took this picture in Nolan County about 8 years ago from the side of the road not far from the wind farm's visitor center. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, I heard the "HUUUMMMMM".

Any retained property rights by deed has value and should be added to the tax rolls and taxed. If it did have value then why retain it.

Actually it has "potential" value Hurley. There is no value to it until it is produced and sold. Don't know about wind or solar power but royalty owners are taxed on oil and gas production both locally and federally.

 

[hurleyjd]

Not sure about solar rights but I have seen tell of landowners out in Nolan County reserving their wind rights for turbines.
(Those things are noisy as he// if you get within 200 yards of them. A slow but constant "whoosh! whoosh! whoosh whoosh!!" every time a blade makes it's lower 180 degree pass. Farther away, you don't hear the individual blades but just a dull "HUUUUMMMM" sound that never stops)
I took this picture in Nolan County about 8 years ago from the side of the road not far from the wind farm's visitor center. As soon as I stepped out of the truck, I heard the "HUUUMMMMM".

Any retained property rights by deed has value and should be added to the tax rolls and taxed. If it did have value then why retain it.

Actually it has "potential" value Hurley. There is no value to it until it is produced and sold. Don't know about wind or solar power but royalty owners are taxed on oil and gas production both locally and federally.

Timber land is taxed all along before it is harvested which might take 20 years to realize any profit. Reserved mineral interests can be sold before any production occurs. Does this make it valuable before any production.

 

[TexasBred]

Any retained property rights by deed has value and should be added to the tax rolls and taxed. If it did have value then why retain it.

Actually it has "potential" value Hurley. There is no value to it until it is produced and sold. Don't know about wind or solar power but royalty owners are taxed on oil and gas production both locally and federally.

Timber land is taxed all along before it is harvested which might take 20 years to realize any profit. Reserved mineral interests can be sold before any production occurs. Does this make it valuable before any production.

The seller will pay taxes on the sale of the minerals. The purchaser doesn't have an income producing asset until it produces which may never happen.

 

[greybeard]

Minerals have no proven value until they are at the very least, produced. Having the rights to something that may or not actually be saleable, or a price put on it.. or not even be there (dry hole), is like hoping for the last card needed for a straight flush in 5 card stud. A pair of deuces beats a 4 flusher every time..
One of every 3 wells drilled in Ok and Tex have historically been dusters not gushers.
1/4-1/8-3/8-1/2--3/4-all of nothing is still nothing. You want to tax 'nothing'?
I think not.
Having eggs don't mean you have hatched chicks.
Seeing 20" diameter trees does mean you have 20" diameter trees.
Having blueprints for a $200,000 house means nothing. Can't tax 'plans' but once the house is built, it does get taxed.

 

[JMJ Farms]

In Georgia, timber property is SUPPOSED to be assessed as bare dirt and taxed accordingly. Then, when you harvest the timber, you pay a timber tax. May not be the same elsewhere.

 

[Lucky]

Solar and wind power are a waste. They both take up huge amounts of land and produce very little power that without Government tax credits is unprofitable. A 6,000 acre solar site will produce 300-500 MW if the sunshines while a 70-100 acre Natural Gas site will produce 1,000 -1,500 MW or more and doesn't require tax payer money to get by. I haven't looked in awhile but wind turbines were producing 1-2 MW each when the wind wasn't too fast or too slow. They are both good for land owners but if the tax credits ever run out they'll both be sitting producing nothing. I wish all the "Go Green" city dwellers had to live around these things. Go to any big city and try to bull doze 6,000 acres in the middle of it to give them 400 MW of solar power and see how they like the heat wave it makes. Not to mention all the people it displaces.

 

[1wlimo]

Solar and wind power are a waste. They both take up huge amounts of land and produce very little power that without Government tax credits is unprofitable. A 6,000 acre solar site will produce 300-500 MW if the sunshines while a 70-100 acre Natural Gas site will produce 1,000 -1,500 MW or more and doesn't require tax payer money to get by. I haven't looked in awhile but wind turbines were producing 1-2 MW each when the wind wasn't too fast or too slow. They are both good for land owners but if the tax credits ever run out they'll both be sitting producing nothing. I wish all the "Go Green" city dwellers had to live around these things. Go to any big city and try to bull doze 6,000 acres in the middle of it to give them 400 MW of solar power and see how they like the heat wave it makes. Not to mention all the people it displaces.

If solar was placed onto roofs it would be so much better. There are more roofs in the world than we need in area to make all the power we need. Not only that but any power station that generates power away from the use leads to a loss in transmission.

Solar does also not need any government money, it is cheaper to build capacity with solar than any other form of power now.

Of course, if buildings were built properly then the power requirements would be a fraction of what they are.

 

[TexasBred]

Solar and wind power are a waste. They both take up huge amounts of land and produce very little power that without Government tax credits is unprofitable. A 6,000 acre solar site will produce 300-500 MW if the sunshines while a 70-100 acre Natural Gas site will produce 1,000 -1,500 MW or more and doesn't require tax payer money to get by. I haven't looked in awhile but wind turbines were producing 1-2 MW each when the wind wasn't too fast or too slow. They are both good for land owners but if the tax credits ever run out they'll both be sitting producing nothing. I wish all the "Go Green" city dwellers had to live around these things. Go to any big city and try to bull doze 6,000 acres in the middle of it to give them 400 MW of solar power and see how they like the heat wave it makes. Not to mention all the people it displaces.

Love this statement. This is one of the largest problems with wind energy. There is a very small window of wind speeds that allow it to operate. To much or not enough and it sits idle.

 

[cowgirl8]

From what i'm hearing, the panels being planned for our area are going to tap into lines abandoned by power plants. The power plant in Mt Pleasant closed, or is closing.. These panels will feed those lines..I'm guessing they'll have battery banks somewhere also.. Havent heard anything for a few days, just getting bits and pieces..

 

[greybeard]

Who is the company planning to build this N. Texas solar farm?