Who would sign the utility paperwork for a battery on your land?

Start with the account, the equipment and the land

If a company proposes a battery on your property, ask it to identify three parties: the landowner, the electric account holder and the battery owner. They may be three different businesses. Knowing those names helps you understand whose documents you are being asked to sign.

Describe the property as it is today. Is there an occupied building, an active farm service or vacant land without an electric account? If a tenant receives the electric bill, say so. Do not assume a nearby meter belongs to the proposed project or that your existing service can be used for it.

Ask the company to explain the proposed arrangement on one sheet. Include who pays for charging electricity, who operates the battery and who handles utility correspondence. Request the legal names of the companies rather than only the names of the people presenting the offer.

Keep that explanation with the proposed land agreement. If the account holder or project company changes during negotiations, have the team update it. You should be able to follow the arrangement without having to interpret an engineering diagram.

Use the posted documents as questions, not project approval

The cooperative’s renewable page asks members to contact its office first. Posted Policy 43 concerns parallel distributed generation outside MISO interconnection requirements; its latest listed revision is April 27, 2023. Policy 42-2, adopted March 30, 2023, addresses qualifying facilities in coordination with Prairie Power. These documents do not expressly establish a standalone battery route.

Ask the developer to describe whether the battery would serve an existing customer, operate with solar or function as a separate land project. The description should cover charging and exports. Have the project team obtain a response that addresses that arrangement rather than treating a general policy download as approval.

A dated response should identify the site and proposal it concerns. Compare those details with the property and company named in your offer. If a response concerns another location or a different operating plan, ask why it is being used to support this proposal.

You do not need to choose the technical review category yourself. Ask the team to identify the reviewing organization, the next submission and the remaining decisions. Keep uncertain items visible in the option timetable.

Reference: Coles-Moultrie Electric Cooperative: renewable energy and current policy links · CMEC: posted Board Policy 43, application and agreement attachments · CMEC: posted Board Policy 42-2, qualifying-facility service

Check the signature before calling a form preliminary

Policy 43’s application includes an undertaking to be bound by its attached agreement. That template addresses member costs, insurance, access, termination and assignment. It is blank project paperwork, not an executed agreement for your property.

If someone calls a document a routine application, ask your advisers to read the signature language and attachments. The practical question is what you would agree to by signing. A developer should be able to explain why your signature is needed and whether its own company could be the applicant.

Separate permission to investigate the land from authority to place utility obligations in your name. If you agree to help with a filing, discuss the exact authorization, its duration and how it ends. Keep a copy of everything submitted using your name or account.

Have the private agreement address the same responsibilities. Who receives invoices? Who pays them directly? Who answers if a utility asks for additional work? Resolve those questions before relying on a promise that the paperwork has no effect on you.

Reference: CMEC: posted Board Policy 43, application and agreement attachments

Connection, electricity sales and land rent are different questions

The posted agreement does not itself grant export rights or commit the cooperative to buy or transport power. A connection document therefore needs to be read alongside any separate sales arrangement.

Ask the company to explain how its proposed battery would earn revenue, in plain language. Then ask which parts of that arrangement are confirmed and which remain under review. You do not need a complete financial model to distinguish an existing agreement from an expectation.

Next, turn to what the company would pay you. Request the payment during investigation, the event that starts later rent and any conditions that could postpone it. Project earnings and money owed under your land agreement should be clearly identified as different items.

If the offer uses an electricity price or a savings estimate to explain your payment, ask what happens when that estimate changes. Compare offers using the actual payment obligation, timing and risk you would accept. A nearby power line or a generation policy cannot supply missing payment terms.

Reference: CMEC: posted Board Policy 43, application and agreement attachments

Decide who handles project costs when the plan changes

A proposal can change after the first site visit. A different entrance, cable route or equipment area may affect the land you retain. Ask how changes are approved and when you can review an updated layout.

Request a simple responsibility schedule covering utility studies, permits, professional fees, construction and ongoing service. For each item, identify the company expected to pay and whether you could receive a bill. Mark estimates as estimates rather than combining them with confirmed costs.

Discuss a stop-work decision as well as a successful project. If the developer decides not to proceed after an expensive review, ask who pays outstanding invoices and how your property is released. Your agreement should explain the end of the investigation period in practical terms.

If the company asks for more time because the connection is unresolved, ask what progress it can document. Agree on the extension payment, the new deadline and the land uses you can continue. Avoid leaving the property reserved without a clear next decision.

Plan access around the uses you want to keep

Walk through the proposed entrance and equipment routes with the project team. Show farm lanes, tenant loading areas, locked gates and places where livestock or machinery move. Explain which routes must remain usable during construction and operation.

Ask the team to distinguish access for its employees, utility crews and emergency responders. The drawing should identify where each party needs to go and whether a route crosses land outside the proposed battery area. Discuss gates, keys and after-hours contacts before those details become a source of friction.

Consider a repair visit when you are away from the property. Who meets the crew, who protects a tenant’s access and who documents any damage? A project described as largely unattended still needs a workable service arrangement.

Keep access rights and repair duties together in your review. Ask who restores ruts, fences, drainage and paved surfaces. If another easement already uses the same route, have your advisers compare the rights before adding a new one.

Discuss an account change or project sale before it happens

A tenant can leave, the property can be sold and the battery company can change owners. Ask what each change would require from you. A transfer of equipment, a transfer of the lease and a change to the electric account are separate events.

Have the project team identify the notices and approvals it expects to need. Your advisers can compare those steps with the proposed land terms and utility documents. Keep responsibility for each step with a named party rather than assuming the buyer will handle everything.

Ask what happens if electricity service ends while equipment remains on your land. Discuss continued payments, site security, removal and restoration. Ending an operating arrangement should not leave you guessing who is responsible for the physical site.

Maintain current contacts for the party owing land payments and the party operating the equipment. If a transfer is proposed, request updated names, addresses and evidence of responsibility. Review those changes against the signed documents you already hold.

Send Sunland the location and what you know

Use the form on this page to send your contact information and the property location. Mention Coles-Moultrie if it is the confirmed provider. If you are unsure about service, say that; a parcel number and exact acreage are optional.

Tell us whether there is an active electric account, a tenant or existing solar. Explain the area you might make available and the use you need to preserve. If a company has approached you, a short description of what it wants can help frame the initial conversation.

An inquiry does not authorize a utility application, transfer an account or reserve your land. The proposed project still needs its own review of the location, connection, approvals and land agreement.