Solar Farms

[Jogeephus]

I've gotten several inquiries on whether or not I'd like to enter into a lease agreement to allow a company to put a solar farm on my property. I've received somewhere around six inquiries so far offering a yearly rent ranging from $500 to $700 per acre per year. Sounds too good to be true so I'm cautious for several reasons. The first is if this is one of those economies built on tax subsidies then where will I be in a few short years. Long term contract or not, if the company goes belly up after the taxpayer support is gone the contract is worthless and I'm left with a bunch of concrete footers that will need to be removed. The second thing that concerns me is why on earth - if this is such a lucrative proposition - would they pay me this much an acre rather than buying the land themselves?

I might be overly cautious but I think any business model that relies on government incentives is a questionable venture.

Anyone else seen anything on these lines?

 

[Nesikep]

I'd have them post a bond, or have the all the equipment turn over into your name if they don't live up to the contract.. At least that way you can make power, or there's a fund to get the footings out.

It is totally built on subsidies and grants, I'll bet on that!

 

[Limomike]

jo, Is this part of it?
http://www.gfb.org/gfbnews/GFBNewsMoreI ... ordID=1787

 

[MO_cows]

Could it be so simple as, if they buy the land it's no longer agricultural, so the taxes would be more than the lease payments?

 

[adairtexas]

1.5 billion dollars, wasting 4000 acres of land to supply 32000 homes with electricity. At 200.00 per home per month, it will take 19 years to recoup the investment. In that time who knows what other maintenance or costs would be involved. Or you could just take the 1.5 billion dollars invest it in a fund and pay 32000 peoples electric bill for 20 years. They would then have an extra 200.00 a month to spend in the local economy, which in turn would probably create more jobs and help out local businesses.

 

[Aaron]

The reason they lease rather than buy, Jo, is to avoid any requirement to clean up after the project is done. If they lease, they can just pay you a lump sum payoff at the end of the project and wipe their hands of it. If they buy it, then they are responsible for clean-up in perpetuity.

 

[Limomike]

I know some guys that have leased their land for cell towers, and they have it written up in the contract to make the land back the way it was , if they decide to abandon the project. Even if it is turned over to another company. I also know of one man who that actually happened to and they did exactly what was agreed to. he made $800 per month for the use of his land, which only covered about 5 acres. And when they were finished, they tore the tower down, and got rid of the concrete and hauled it off, and even planted his grass back .

 

[Jogeephus]

The clean up must be it. I'm not worried about cell phone towers but the contracts I've read will only limit the clean up to the above ground features but the concrete footers (4) are yours to deal with but they offer long term leases held by public companies and the leases here are around $1300/acre with an increase every five years.

I have my concerns over these solar companies and figure many are just a flash in the pan trying to suck on the government teet. This I don't like because I know their morals have little depth.

I made some phone calls and finally found an engineer who worked with a large utility company who was working in this field. From what I understood the government was forcing them to buy so much outside clean energy power and my understanding is that while they may not want the competition they had to do it being they are allowed a monopoly of sorts. He cautioned that these contracts were only going to be given to a few companies and he cautioned there were a lot of pen hookers who would like to tie your land up in hopes of being a middle man and hold the rights to your property.

All that aside, even if one of the companies making me these offers is legit and has the contract I don't see why they would want to lease the property other than for the cleanup reasons Aaron stated because with this much rent puts the land value at 10 times it value so you could buy a lot of land for this rather than renting and this makes no sense to me so there has to be some screwy reason they would do this and it can't be good for the landowner.

Besides, it sounds too good to be true and it reeks of federal government meddling and that is why I've been tossing ever offer in the trash can.

 

[Bez__]

I am a commercial solar power producer.

I make a lot of money from it.

Returns about 14 - 16% on the original investment.

It is all subsidized by tax dollars.

It is not economical to make the power.

It only produces when the sun shines.

Anyone who gets into the business for altruistic reasons soon learns that the reason it is so successful is because people have been sold a bill of goods.

The only people who promote it are people who either cannot see the forest for the trees as they are "green" or they are simply out for the dollars.

Certain solar farms are so big that they kill hundreds of birds a day as they fly over - they literally burst into flame - they are called "streamers".

Most Euro countries are abandoning "green power" as it is inefficient, expensive and unreliable. That includes windmills - they are also huge animal killers.

Jo - watch your A.S.S. if you get involved in this - and for D.A.M.N. sure - have an END date and clean up in the contract with the money set aside in trust to complete the job - funny how businesses seem to disappear when it comes time to make restitution on a clean up.

Green power is a scam - it might get better with technology and efficient batteries for storage - but in this day and age it is a scam.

And yes I profit from it.

Lots more on this one but I am tired - later folks.

Bez__

 

[Hook]

There's a place near me that's 90 acres. It has roughly 2000 metal posts on it that the solar collectors were supposed to set on. The company went belly up before the first panel was set during the whole solindra fiasco. Leaving a bunch of 3 ft tall metal pipes that only collect mosquitoes. Can't mow it for hay, and the property is still tied up in a 10 year land lease that isn't being paid but can't be used.

 

[john250]

Does that qualify as organic?

 

[Jogeephus]

Does that qualify as organic?

If nothing else its Certified Gluten Free!

That's my fear Hook. Seems whenever the feds prop up something like this it always fails. I don't understand the incentives they are getting but whatever they are I'm sure they will change like the wind. Our city did this on about 5 acres but they have done so much stupid stuff in the past chasing grants and things I just cannot look to them as any sort of example to go by and feel this is just another stupid waste of tax dollars.

 

[john250]

You should at least get a new, free Chevy Volt every year.

 

[Jogeephus]

Now your talking! I could be a hipster then!

 

[jedstivers]

Now your talking! I could be a hipster then!

Only if you use your O phone while your driving through CO toking on a "legal" number on your way to see 3way.
A modern day green easy rider so to speak.

 

[hurleyjd]

Harry Reid and the Chinese company have any thing to do with it.

 

[hurleyjd]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102125295#.

 

[greybeard]

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102125295#.

One of the most misleading piles of dung I've ever read. Not the least of which is this:

Gartman added what was more important to him was the fact the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which is supposed to hold 90 days' worth last year's net imports of crude, was holding a 245-day supply of oil.

This year's and last year's imports have shrunk considerably while the SPR storage has remained pretty much the same, so of course the storage-to-import ratio is out of kilter---------not because we use a LOT less oil but simply because we use a LOT MORE our own crude instead of importing it.

We'll all have flyin cars and electricity too cheap to meter before crude oil becomes the new whale oil.

 

[Jogeephus]

I'm all for solar energy or any other alternative energy for that matter but I think it needs to stand on its own without being propped up by the government. T.B Pickens lost 150 million on wind mill farms and I don't care to follow suit. My losing this much money would probably mean I'd have to give up my Lear Jet and Yacht.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Solar energy costs are coming down fast, but some fossil fuel costs are also going down.
We are not in an ideal locations to produce it - - so the breakeven point here is not attractive w/o subsidies.
It would be great on a tropical island w/o infrastructure.