Sunnyplans Blog
Market analysis, site selection strategies, and SunnyScore deep dives for solar & BESS developers.
Solar developers start with a GIS screen, not a site visit. Protected areas, wetlands, and substation proximity eliminate most parcels before anyone makes a call. Here's the full screening sequence.
Ohio sits entirely in PJM territory — cluster studies, post-FERC Order 2023 deposit rules, a congested queue. Senate Bill 52 handed county commissioners veto power over utility-scale projects, and many counties in the state's best solar corridor have used it.
FERC Order 2023 reformed how solar and storage projects get interconnected to the US grid. Here's what the rule actually changed — site control requirements, deposit structure, cluster studies — and what it means for land near a substation.
Georgia Power's monopoly controls who gets interconnection access — and the CARES RFP rejection rate explains why most development announcements don't translate into lease offers. Where viable land still exists.
Duke Energy controls interconnection for most of the state, and the North Carolina Utilities Commission just paused new solar procurement. Where viable land still exists — and what to check before making an offer.
Before a solar developer calls a landowner, they've already run the parcel through a filter. Here's what that filter checks — and how to run it yourself before making an offer.
The interconnection process is the longest part of most solar projects. Here's what each phase takes, how grid operators differ, and what it means for a landowner waiting on a developer.
Florida has no independent grid operator, and FPL controls interconnection for half the state while competing with independent developers to build solar on it. What that means for site selection — and where viable land still exists.
The National Wetlands Inventory shows documented wetlands, not all wetlands. What a delineation survey actually finds, why Army Corps Section 404 jurisdiction follows, and what it means for a solar project's permitting timeline.
Zone AE triggers a mandatory flood insurance requirement — but only under specific conditions. Here's when the obligation applies, what it costs, and what changes if you own property outright or finance through a private lender.
The lease vs. sell question assumes you have a choice. Here's what developers actually offer, how the financial math works over 25 years, and who selling outright makes sense for.
Utility-scale solar projects typically take three to five years from signed lease to construction. The permitting process is layered — county zoning, state siting authority, environmental surveys, and interconnection — and each layer has its own logic for why it takes as long as it does.
A Special Use Permit is a discretionary county board decision, not a form you submit and wait on. What triggers the requirement, what the process actually involves, and why some counties aren't accepting applications at all.
The distance between a parcel and the nearest substation determines whether project economics work — and quietly shapes the lease offer a landowner receives. Most landowners never check it.
Solar irradiance determines how much electricity a project produces — but its effect on land value is more qualified than the simple sun-equals-value equation suggests.
Texas leads the US in solar capacity, but ERCOT's grid geography determines whether any specific parcel has a realistic development path. Where the queue is moving and what that means for site selection.
Solar easement means two different things depending on who's using the term. Understanding both matters when you're evaluating land — one shows up in a title search, the other in a lease negotiation.
Battery storage projects look similar to solar farms from the road, but the site criteria are meaningfully different. Acreage, grid proximity, zoning classification, and fire codes — what developers screen for and where the real constraints are.
Solar land lease rates in the US vary from under $500 to over $2,000 per acre per year. Here's what actually drives the difference — grid access, ISO territory, state policy — and what it means for evaluating a specific parcel.
Parcels zoned agricultural don't automatically qualify for solar — and they don't automatically disqualify either. What the designation actually determines, how Special Use Permits work, and where the new federal farmland restrictions are heading.
How many acres does a solar farm need in Texas? ERCOT grid access, zoning, flood zones, substation proximity, and solar land lease rates by region — what developers actually screen for in 2026.
Zone AE doesn't automatically kill a solar deal, but it changes who will finance it, what permitting looks like, and what a developer's offer reflects. What landowners need to know before the conversation starts.
Not every parcel gets an offer. Developers screen for grid proximity, terrain, zoning, and a handful of constraint layers before they knock on your door.
The first offer is almost always negotiable. What a solar land lease actually covers — option period, lease rates, and the clauses that matter most.
Getting a grid connection approved is often the longest part of a solar project. How the interconnection queue works, why it's backed up, and what it means for developers and landowners.