A land agent arrives with an offer: a wind or solar lease, a transmission or pipeline easement, a battery storage site, or an option to buy land for a data center. The payment sounds good and the paperwork is “standard.” It is also forty pages long, written by the developer’s lawyers, and may bind your land — and your heirs — for thirty to fifty years.

Reams Law represents Oklahoma landowners in reviewing and negotiating wind, solar, and infrastructure agreements. Call (405) 285-6878 before you sign.

Agreements we review and negotiate

• Wind energy leases and easements;
• Solar leases and option agreements;
• Battery storage and substation site leases;
• Electric transmission line easements;
• Pipeline, water line, and fiber easements;
• Data center and industrial site options and purchase agreements;
• Access roads, temporary construction easements, and crop and surface damage agreements.

What we look for

• Payment. Option and development-period payments, per-acre or per-megawatt rent, royalties, escalators, and minimum payments if the project is delayed or never built.
• How much land is tied up. Whether the agreement burdens the whole tract or only what is needed, and your right to keep farming, ranching, hunting, and building.
• Term and extensions. How long the developer can hold an option without building, and who controls renewals.
• Removal and restoration. Decommissioning obligations, the depth of removal, soil restoration, and financial security so the cost does not fall on you. Oklahoma statutes set baseline requirements for wind projects; a good lease goes further.
• Liability, insurance, and indemnity.
• Taxes. Who pays increased property taxes and rollback of agricultural valuation.
• Your lender and your other leases. Mortgage subordination requests, and conflicts with existing farm, grazing, or mineral leases.
• Assignment. Projects are bought and sold; the company you sign with may not be the one you deal with later.
• Audit rights to verify royalty payments.

Easements and condemnation

Some pipeline, utility, and transmission companies have the power of eminent domain; many project developers do not. Knowing which you are dealing with changes your negotiating position. We advise on both negotiated easements and condemnation offers.

Who pays for the review

Developers frequently agree to reimburse a landowner’s reasonable attorney’s fees for lease review. Ask — or let us ask for you.

Related services

See Land Use & Zoning and Real Estate.

Talk to Reams Law

Call (405) 285-6878 or contact us online to schedule a consultation.

This page provides general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not make anyone a client of this firm. Laws change, and the right approach depends on the specific facts.