Frequently Asked Questions

Lease payments are paid by Sunrise Mountain Partners to you monthly, for the life of the lease. The rates are fixed upfront and include an annual escalator. The payments are not impacted by our year-to-year profitability. Regardless of the solar farm's performance, the lease payments will occur as laid out in the agreement.

Lease rates vary depending on where the property is located, the current utility program, and the characteristics of your land. Please call us for a written proposal. Landowners can expect a payment above the current rentable value of the land.

Generally speaking, we seek approximately 20-50 acres on average. For landowners with larger parcels, we can build two or even three solar farms on your property.  We require a minimum of 20 buildable acres.

Yes, we do. Please let us know if you are interested in selling your land.

Yes. Many of the landowners lease a portion of their property and continue to use the remaining land for farming and/or hunting.

Yes, we can. These types of county restrictions ban utility-scale solar projects using thousands of acres and are several hundred megawatts in size. Our average project is 5-10 megawatts and uses 30-50 acres. These community solar farms are permitted.

Our leases are 30-50 years, plus multiple renewal terms.

It is typical to see something like this:

• Development Term: 5-8 years

• Construction Term: 2-3 years

• Operating Term: 25-30 years, with renewal options

At the end of lease, the land is fully decommissioned. Sunrise Mountain Partners will pay all costs associated with decommissioning activity. We recycle the solar equipment, steel, copper, and aluminum. Sunrise Mountain Partners is responsible for the removal of all equipment and the small concrete pads on which the inverters and transformer sit. The land will be returned to you in its original condition, or better, with a working drainage system.

Our people have been involved in the successful development, ownership and operations of over 80 solar farms in 16 states, representing more than 1,100 megawatts, totaling $1.2 billion. We can provide references upon request.

On average, it takes 4 years to develop a solar farm. The timeline depends on the electric utility’s interconnection process and the complexity of permitting requirements. Sunrise Mountain Partners works as quickly as possible to develop projects, and you will start earning revenue from day one.

Sunrise Mountain Partners will be responsible for the entire development and construction process and all associated costs. There is no cost burden for the landowner.

There are 3 steps:

• Obtaining interconnection approval from the utility

• Local permits
  

• Equipment procurement and final engineering

No, not generally. Our racking system uses standard, steel I-beam posts that are driven into the ground with a pile-driver. The only concrete we use is for the transformer pad and the inverter pads. Typically those are small pads - l0'xl0', for instance - that can easily be broken up and decommissioned at the end of the lease.

Unless you have a recent and detailed tile map, some field tiles will get broken during construction. After construction is complete, we retile the field and/or repair the tile. We want the land to drain well, too. Water and electricity don't mix.

We try to source as many Made in USA materials as possible. The federal tax credits incentivize us to use Made in USA equipment - panels, inverters and steel. We do not source panels from China.

No, your taxes will not go up as a result of the solar system. We cover 100% of the increase in taxes. We also pay all rollback taxes triggered as a result of the solar farm. Your portion will not go up.

The developer is responsible. Sunrise Mountain Partners pays for the entire permitting process and all development costs.

We post a security bond in favor of the landowner during construction and for the life of the lease. In practice, our lenders do not allow construction of a solar farm until all of the financing is secured. In a worst case scenario, should a solar farm itself go bankrupt, the bank will take control of the project and sell it to a new operator. You will continue to receive your rent payments.

Yes, if you are interested in mowing please let us know. We are always looking for local farmers to help us with vegetative maintenance. Many of our landowners want the mowing contract.

Sunrise Mountain Partners is responsible. We develop, construct, operate, maintain and decommission our projects. We conduct remote monitoring of every solar farm daily, 365 days per year. Our people will visit the solar farm 2-4 times per year for maintenance and tune ups, plus regular mowing.

Generally speaking, solar farms are low-profile and do not pose a significant hindrance to visual sightlines. Most of our projects are between 6-8 feet tall at their peak height – about half the height of a row of corn. Sunrise Mountain Partners will consult with the community to ensure that the visual impact of the solar farm will be minimal. We incorporate natural buffers (trees, shrubs, etc.) into our site plans to mitigate any visual impacts.

No. The solar farm's inverters will produce a low decibel sound during daylight hours; however, it will not be noticeable unless you are standing right next to the inverters. After sunset, a solar farm produces no noise.

No, they do not. Our solar farms do not use hazardous materials. The panels used by Sunrise Mountain Partners comply with strict testing protocols and toxicity standards to ensure they do not release any hazardous materials into the environment.

Solar is a clean, renewable source of energy and does not generate air emissions. Low-level electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure from solar is no greater than standard household electrical equipment.