The Attorney General recently opined on whether a person helping to secure or negotiate a wind lease in Texas is required to be licensed by the Texas Real Estate Commission. Background The Chair of the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) contacted the Texas Attorney General (AG) to ask “whether a person who negotiates a lease for property for the development of a wind power project on behalf of another, for compensation, must have a license from the Texas Real Estate Commission.”  Historically, TREC has taken the position that… Read More →

Wind turbines are a common sight across Texas.  In fact, Texas is the largest wind producing state in America.  In 2017, the number of megawatts produced by Texas wind farms surpassed the number of megawatts of energy produced by Texas coal plants.  However, not everyone is a fan of wind farms or the look of the wind turbines dotting the skyline across the Lone Star State.  This has led to an interesting question:  Can claimed negative aesthetic impact of a wind project by a neighboring landowner constitute a… Read More →

I’ve gotten a few calls recently from landowners seeking resources on wind leases.  I have not written anything on this topic, but for good reason.  My friend and colleague at Oklahoma State University, Dr. Shannon Ferrell, is the wind energy guru and he literally wrote the book on wind leasing for landowners. To access your free copy of the Wind Energy Leasing Handbook, click here.  Additionally, thanks to Shannon’s technological genius, he also has a video of a wind leasing presentation he gave to a group of landowners a… Read More →