Getting the Most From Wind Farming

While the wind may not be a factor today...for some area landowners it could become a huge factor...  More »

While the wind may not be a factor today...for some area landowners it could become a huge factor every day. Residents of andamp;lt;a href=andamp;quot;http://www.kxnet.com/t/velva-ndandamp;quot; class=andamp;quot;kxInlineLinkandamp;quot;andamp;gt;Velvaandamp;lt;/aandamp;gt; gathered at City Hall today to meet with representatives out of Wyoming regarding wind resources. Topics discussed included land owner rights, legal do's and dont's of andamp;lt;a href=andamp;quot;http://www.kxnet.com/t/wind-farmandamp;quot; class=andamp;quot;kxInlineLinkandamp;quot;andamp;gt;wind farmandamp;lt;/aandamp;gt; leases and the strategy of determining what your property is worth. (Frank Falen, Budd-Falen Law Offices) andamp;quot;For a lot of landowners it would be the most complicated contract they have ever entered into in their life. If they are going to get involved in and look at it, to make a list for them, if you will, of here are all the things that we have thought of that we have run across doing this that you need to consider and here are the pros and cons and it will help you make your decision regarding whether or not you are interested in it.andamp;quot;andamp;quot; Falen says around the country land owner associations are forming to best serve residents. Since this is a relatively new revenue stream...there isn't a lot of history to help base decisions on. The associations enable residents to meet with multiple developers and have collective bargaining power. While Falen wasn't sure how many in andamp;lt;a href=andamp;quot;http://www.kxnet.com/t/north-dakotaandamp;quot; class=andamp;quot;kxInlineLinkandamp;quot;andamp;gt;North Dakotaandamp;lt;/aandamp;gt; are considering putting up turbines, he says clearly there is some interest. (Frank Falen, Budd-Falen Law Offices) andamp;quot;We have done this from Wyoming down to New Mexico and andamp;lt;a href=andamp;quot;http://www.kxnet.com/t/texasandamp;quot; class=andamp;quot;kxInlineLinkandamp;quot;andamp;gt;Texasandamp;lt;/aandamp;gt; and I think one of the things that is true across the board is generally land owners have a very hard time knowing just exactly what their wind resource is worth yet they know they are making a potentially long-term commitment.andamp;quot;  « Less