Humbled by our responsibility as stewards of your land.
Since 2017, more than 40 landowners have placed their trust in us to develop our power plants on their land, land that is often passed through generations and precious in sentiment as much as it is in value.
We pledge to you that our site assessment process will be rigorous, detailed and thorough. That our terms are fair and that we are always transparent on the status of each project, regardless of its standing.
We also pledge to not tie up your land until first understanding the transmission and permitting pathways, suitability for construction and undertaking market analysis of the region. We know you're busy so we'll make sure we come prepared first.
Full Land Usage
Make full use of your land – including growing and harvesting crops – while we perform our non-invasive studies
Long Term Payouts
Receive predictable, monthly lease payments of 35 years+ at higher than market rates
Competitive Purchasing
If we are able to purchase your land, we do so at above market rates in lump sum payment
We Pay the Tax
We pay for any incremental taxes received by the County for siting a solar farm on your land
Efficient Water Use
Our solar farm design requires minimal water while improving storm water drainage to the entire area
Agricultural Harmony
Improving access roads + harmonizing the land & surroundings with our Agrivoltaic design approach
Remote Operation
Rarely will you see personnel walking the site with exception of maintaining the land and the system
Immediate Development
We will never sit on a site with inaction and indecision. We will immediately dedicate capital & resources to it
How We Assess Land for Suitability
We can often complete this process within 30 days, due to our fully in-house capabilities and our commitment to meet landowners in person to build a strong relationship. Many landowners note our promptness and decisiveness and we hope you will too.
In-house engineering review
We perform topographical analysis and detailed engineering mockups in order to lay the path to permitting and assess construction suitability
01
Full permitting review
We meet with the county permitting office to ensure that a solid permitting pathway is established and that our designs conform to local standards
02
Economic review
Our economic and financial modeling is comprehensive; we identify optimal tax structures, regional energy prices and forecast load patterns in order to provide each landowner with the best terms
03
Markets Review
From identifying energy supply issues in the region to engaging with power partners for the sale of the project’s electricity, our markets analysis is a cornerstone of our developments
04
Transmission review
We are proud of the fact that we perform transmission analysis and planning in-house, utilizing the most sophisticated software to identify the optimal point-of-interconnection (POI)
05
What They’re Saying
Landowner FAQ
What type of lease or purchase terms do you offer?
Our standard contract has been drawn to be fair, uniform and transparent. When leasing, we don’t want to tie up your land more than the lifecycle of the plant. This means that we offer an initial lease term followed by extension options in order to customize the best product to a power customer.
If purchasing, you will find our purchase terms to be above market. Purchases are lump-sum and generally at the onset of construction. Until then, regardless of leasing or purchasing, we provide annual options payments that are – depending upon the region – anywhere between 4 and 7 years. This means that we will pay you an option payment every year until we execute the lease or purchase agreement.
Generally, what does your Company’s development process look like?
Typically, there are 5 buckets in a development process: (a) surveying, (b) permitting, (c) engineering designs, (d) electricity contracting and (e) transmission studies. The bulk of this process is completed within three years but can be longer depending upon the transmission study timeline which a developer does not control. Nevertheless, once the project obtains all its permits and goes through the transmission process, we will transition to a more engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) focus, which takes an additional year. The EPC process combines different groups in our Company where we finalize the remaining engineering design specifications.
During the development cycle, how frequently will your staff be on-site?
During the development process we will periodically have teams of biologists, archeologists, surveyors, and geotechs that will perform surveys on the property to ensure we are meeting all local, state, and federal permitting requirements. These teams will likely require less than 5 visits of being on the property to perform their surveys. It is important to note that we will not (and have no need to) stop any farming activities on your land during that time.
What ingress and egress paths will be needed for construction and post-construction?
These vary based on the layout of properties that make up the entirety of the project. In most cases we are able to restrict those paths to a single point of entry from the most nearby location. This entry may or may not be located on your property. Once construction is complete there is usually only one entry point to the project. When the equipment is removed the roadway will be returned to its natural condition and replanted.
What happens if your Company causes damages to our crops or drainage tile?
In the rare and offchance case that there is crop damage, our standard lease agreement contract include a damage reimbursement section, which we will fully honor.
Regarding tiles, we receive this question a lot throughout the Midwest and Great Plains states. If the tiles are surveyed or mapped then we can avoid them. If not, then we work with the landowner to derive the best solution. In some instances, this may include waiting until the panels are removed and repair the tiles as part of the restoration process (we keep a removal bond in place to account for re-seeding, repair of a tile, etc.). In other cases, the best approach may be to correct the issue immediately. Either way, we work closely with the landowner to address any concerns/issues of this nature.
How would the solar project affect our current utility lines?
We are not going to impact existing lines that are already on your property. We will work around those and make sure to honor any existing easements associated with those lines. That way we will not affect maintenance or repairs to those lines by the owner.
Will we be able to exclude any areas from the project and have approval rights?
We always recognize this is your property and you can exclude specific areas if you wish. If, by approval rights, you are referring to approving of the portion of your property that we would like to lease than yes, those rights are also yours.
What will our land look like after the project has ended and been cleaned up?
The solar panels are attached to small “H” beams (similar to the posts used to mount a guard rail along a highway) that are driven into the ground and removed by being pulled directly up out of the ground, backfilled, and reseeded. Any small portions of concrete pads are “floating” and picked up and removed when the project is complete and the site cleaned up. There should be very little evidence of anything being built there.
What happens after the useful life of the solar project has expired?
When the solar facility is no longer efficient, the system will be decommissioned and the equipment removed, recycling everything that can be, and returning the land to the condition in which it existed prior to the installation of the solar project. When the project is removed, the land is returned to essentially its original state. Many landowners see leasing land for utility-scale solar projects as a form of land banking, as it has minimal long-term impact on the value of the land. Lastly, at ibV Energy Partners, our lease agreements have a specific clause addressing that it is our responsibility to remove all equipment and return the land back to its previous state.
What if the project is abandoned?
We are not aware of a single solar power plant ever of having been abandoned. Not in the United States nor abroad. Solar farms are constantly monitored and receive regular maintenance by professional technicians to make sure they are operating well. Project owners who invest in solar projects have a business interest in keeping them operating properly.
Do utility-scale solar projects make any noise? Do the panels themselves produce glare?
Solar panels do not produce noise. The inverters that change the current of electricity from DC to AC do produce a slight hum but is not audible. Sound produced at the solar facility is similar to the ambient noise outside and dissipates at the property boundary. Solar projects are considered quiet neighbors.
Glare from solar panels is a non-issue as solar panels are designed to absorb sunlight, rather than reflect it. These panels are dark in color and are treated with an anti-reflective coating. Solar panels are generally less reflective than windows. The FAA has created standards to assess glare from solar facilities to ensure that they are safe for pilots flying nearby. Using these standards, the FAA has approved many solar facilities to be sited on or near major airports.
Do solar projects depend on taxpayer subsidies?
ibV Energy’s solar projects are privately funded and are generally located on private land that is leased or purchased directly from the landowners. We do not ask the federal government for any funds or subsidies that are not provided statutorily.
We also note that there is federal legislation that provides subsidies for every major energy industry, including coal, natural gas, nuclear and oil. This is the reason why the United States has some of the world’s least expensive electricity and a major reason why our economy has grown so rapidly.
How does ibV Energy Partners approach landscape design and management?
ibV Energy Partners works hard to ensure that our projects will not change the look or feel of the community. Solar arrays have a low profile (8-15 feet from grade) and we use setbacks and vegetative buffers to shield the project from view of neighboring homeowners. We see this as part of being a good neighbor. In addition, we are committed to using native grasses and pollinator plants. Solar projects are typically planted with native grasses or wildflowers that improve soil and water quality and can be an important habitat for pollinators such as bees and butterflies, which make nearby farms more productive.
Are there long-term storm water concerns with utility-scale solar? Do they increase runoff, erosion or flooding?
Storm water management plans are a required part of the solar development process. These plans are prepared by professional engineers to ensure that projects do not contribute to erosion or flooding. The land on a solar farm is not paved and can be covered with native plants that absorb rain and runoff and help recharge groundwater. Once operational, the use of perennial ground cover and elimination of annual tillage, irrigation, and fertilizer (in the case of farmland) allows the soil to absorb water and rejuvenate during the life of the project. A solar project has maximum ground permeability and is much better in terms of stormwater runoff than most other types of development.
Do solar panels contain toxic chemicals? Can they be recycled?
Solar panel materials are enclosed and don’t mix with water or vaporize into the air, meaning there is no threat of chemicals being released into the environment during normal use. In addition, the panels are manufactured to endure all weather conditions and are sealed shut to make them actually operate. Almost all solar PV panels are made of tempered glass, pass rigorous hail tests, and are regularly installed in Arctic and Antarctic conditions – they even power satellites and the International Space Station! We are not aware of any community or individuals being harmed by the performance of a solar facility.
After their useful life, solar panels and equipment are easy to disassemble and recycle. Solar plants are designed to withstand severe weather and panels are built to last for up to 40 years. If solar panels are damaged, they can be quickly replaced with new ones in a modular style.
What benefits do utility-scale solar projects bring to the community?
Solar power plants are sources of high tax revenue for the local area. A typical solar project will generate decades of steady tax revenue to fund schools and other community services while helping keep taxes low for homeowners. In addition to taxes, solar creates local construction and operations jobs and increase business activities, specifically for local services such as hotels, restaurants, and equipment lessors. To understand more about benefits to the community, please see our Communities page.
Will living near a solar farm affect the value of my property?
It makes sense that neighbors will want to know if a solar project will affect their property values. The best way to answer this question is to look at data from real estate sales and assessments. Numerous local and national studies have shown that clean energy projects do not reduce nearby property values. For example, property valuation experts from national tax accounting firm CohnReznick have studied the value of properties that adjoin solar farms in the Midwest and concluded that the solar farms do not adversely affect the property values in either the short or long term. The study also included interviews with county assessors and local real estate professionals, all of whom concluded that solar farms in their area had not impacted property values. Similar research has been conducted in other states across the U.S. and none of these studies have found that solar farms adversely affect nearby property values.
Does it make sense to build solar projects on agricultural lands?
Solar energy production will never displace agriculture’s central role in our economy. Solar projects are a temporary use of private land that can complement agriculture by helping farmers manage commodity price shifts, generating passive income and protect their way of life. Additionally, many of our project designs are committed to planting pollinator plants within the project and hosting sheep which will allow the property to remain an agricultural use.
Ultimately, we believe that the landowner should make this decision. Landowner rights are sacrosanct in the United States and the inability for landowners to determine the best use of their land (as long as no direct harm is being done to others) threatens the very basics of our freedom.
Is the electric voltage at a solar project dangerous? Do solar farms create a fire hazard?
The electric current generated at solar panels is lower than the voltage in a home outlet. Electricity from a solar project travels through buried cables to a transformer, where voltage is increased so that it can feed into the electric grid. All the electric equipment on the site is secured and will not pose a risk to people or animals. Additionally, solar projects do not use heat to generate electricity. Millions of solar panels have been safely installed on homes and rooftops around the world for decades – including more than 53,000 MW of solar in the US. All solar installations in the US are fully permitted and inspected by relevant local authorities including fire departments. Incidents of any kind are extremely rare.
How long is a utility-scale solar project operational?
Solar projects have life spans of approximately 40 years. At ibV Energy Partners, we fully expect our utility- scale solar projects to have the capability of producing electricity efficiently for more than 40 years. With the underlying land secured, the project will be able to be upgraded or re-powered over the course of operation with new more efficient equipment, extending the life and improving efficiency and thus, providing you continuous benefits.
