Landowner Work

Our focus is on:

• Preserving landowner rights, such as existing and future property uses, mineral development opportunities, and when appropriate other renewable energy (e.g. small and/or community wind and solar) opportunities

• Critical developer evaluation aimed at verifying the developer’s ability and resources and identifying the developer’s competing projects

• Critical project evaluation aimed at verifying the status and development potential of the proposed project and how the property fits within the overall project plan

• Project advancement and avoiding land-banking, transmission plays, and use of the property for blocking strategies

• Identifying and building in to agreements appropriate economic features, such as signing fees, option fees, damage/installation fees, royalties, minimum royalties, and other fees (e.g. road, transmission, and substation fees)

We strive for efficiency in evaluating and negotiating agreements with developers. To this end, we maintain a database of option and easement/lease forms and transaction summaries. From this database, we have developed and employ with each engagement a set of tools designed to efficiently evaluate the developer and evaluate and structure agreements, including:

• 50-item checklist for evaluating developers and proposed projects

• Economics tables, tracking the economic features and amounts of various projects

• A table of option and easement/lease concepts, used to evaluate each agreement

• A table of additional and alternative lease terms and concepts, designed to preserve landowner rights and maximize project advancement

We have worked with individual landowners and with landowner groups and associations. We have experience:

• Negotiating agreements (e.g. cooperation agreements, met tower agreements, options, and easements/leases) with developers

• Assisting landowner interests in identifying, evaluating, and selecting developers

• Assisting landowner interests in enhancing the development potential of their property

• Representing landowner associations pursuing renewable energy opportunities

We limit our renewable energy development work to work with local interests and a handful of small (mostly community-scale project) developers. This limitation allows us to represent landowners opposite nearly all developers (particularly large developers). Also, our work with these developers gives us a stronger understanding of the developer’s perspective and requirements, allowing us to more efficiently negotiate transactions for landowner interests.

Please feel free to contact us if approached by a developer, if interested in discussing development opportunities for your property, or if interested in forming a landowner association. We will gladly discuss your opportunities and how we can assist you.