Wisconsin is moving away from carbon-based fuels such as coal, and moving toward renewable energy such as wind and solar. This means there are more opportunities for farmers to add value to their farms with solar arrays.
Kelly Wilfert, farm law outreach specialist at the UW-Madison Division of Extension, says roughly 2,500 megawatts have been developed in Wisconsin over 13,000 acres. In the next five years, she says data suggests another 4,500 megawatts of solar development will happen across more than 23,000 acres.
Solar developers are looking for flat, clear land free of obstructions that block sunlight, so farmland is very attractive. Wilfert says it’s important for farm families to think carefully before signing solar agreements. It’s important to have a cautionary lens with such a long-term commitment.
Negotiating a lease with a solar developer may be challenging. The developer typically is advantaged by their longer experience. The agreements are often long and include complicated language that is hard to understand for most non-attorneys.
To offset this advantage, landowners interested in leasing land to a solar developer should first do their homework. This includes looping in an experienced attorney before negotiating and signing a land lease.
Wilfert explains that you are essentially signing away your property rights in a land lease. You’ll need to ask about building, recreating (ATVing, hunting), or doing agriculture practices on the land that the solar array is on.
And finally, make sure that the plans are in place for decommissioning the solar array when the lease is up.
See a fact sheet: https://localgovernment.extension.wisc.edu/files/2023/12/SolarFactSheetLandownersDec2023.pdf