Know which company is making each promise
A developer may show you a county agreement while asking for an option or lease on your land. Ask for both documents, with all attachments, and have your adviser identify the parties. In the posted Wildcat Ranch proposal, the defined “Owner” is the project company. That term does not automatically mean you, the underlying landowner.
For your offer, identify the company that would pay rent, build the facility and remain responsible for repairs and removal. Ask who can sign for it and whether another company guarantees its obligations. A familiar project name is not enough to identify the party you would be relying on.
Ask which version of every document is current and whether it has been signed. The county-posted proposal has blank county and company signatures. A date printed beside an execution block is not proof that the agreement was executed. Get the actual decision and completed agreement if the developer says county approval is already in place.
Reference: Cochran County: Proposed Wildcat Ranch Energy Storage I tax agreement, January 30, 2025 · Cochran County: County Judge’s office
Separate your rent from payments to the county
The proposed Wildcat Ranch document describes payments to the county in exchange for a tax abatement, plus payments to a county community fund. Those are different from the payments a landowner negotiates for an option, lease or easement. Do not use a county payment figure as a quote for your property.
Ask your adviser to put your payment terms in a short schedule: what is due at signing, what is paid while the developer investigates, what starts lease rent and how later increases work. Include deadlines and any extra payment required to keep the land reserved longer.
Ask who is responsible for property taxes, changes in assessments and costs if an incentive ends or a filing is missed. The proposed county document discusses filing duties and loss of tax benefits. Your own agreement should make clear whether any project cost could be charged to you or deducted from rent.
Reference: Cochran County: Proposed Wildcat Ranch Energy Storage I tax agreement, January 30, 2025
Ask how removal would be funded
A promise to remove batteries is easier to assess when you can also see how the work would be paid for. The proposed county agreement calls for removal standards and a removal bond in the project’s land agreements, referring to a separate guideline schedule. Ask for the current schedule and the actual security proposed for your land; the reviewed packet does not supply that schedule.
Have your adviser explain who can claim against the security, when it must be in place and what happens if it expires or the issuer cancels it. Ask how its amount is estimated and updated. A bond protecting the county may not provide the same rights or cover the same work as security protecting you.
Write down what must be removed and restored: batteries, pads, cables, roads, fencing and temporary work areas. Identify anything you want to keep and how that choice would be recorded. Discuss abandoned construction as well as the end of an operating lease, so the plan covers a project that stops before it is finished.
Reference: Cochran County: Proposed Wildcat Ranch Energy Storage I tax agreement, January 30, 2025
Want to ask about your land?
Send the location and what you know. You don’t need a project plan.
Tell us about your landMatch road responsibilities to the route you use
The posted proposal discusses project-caused road damage, upgrades and extraordinary maintenance separately from the county’s routine maintenance. It also describes county approval for work. These are proposed terms for that agreement, so ask what applies to the actual route and project rather than assuming the same arrangement covers your land.
Mark the delivery route and entrance on a drawing. Identify county roads, state roads, private roads, culverts and shared access. Cochran County lists precinct commissioner contacts; use the appropriate office to confirm responsibility for county-road work. Have the project team identify any other road authority it needs to consult.
Settle how you would keep reaching your fields, buildings or neighboring parcels during construction. Ask who documents road condition, pays for damage, approves repairs and responds when access is blocked. Cover private roads and gates in your agreement, even if a separate county agreement addresses public roads.
Reference: Cochran County: Proposed Wildcat Ranch Energy Storage I tax agreement, January 30, 2025 · Cochran County: Commissioners and precinct contacts
Keep obligations clear when the project changes hands
The proposed county agreement has provisions for assignment to affiliates, transfer to other companies and financing. Your private lease may have different transfer provisions. Ask your adviser to compare them so you understand who would owe you money and maintain removal security after a sale or transfer.
Discuss the notice you would receive, the new company’s contact details and the documents showing it has taken on the lease obligations. Ask whether the original company is released and what happens to any guarantee. Include responsibility for damage or unpaid amounts that arose before the transfer.
Keep a current contact for routine maintenance and urgent access problems. The proposed county agreement also discusses inspection access and annual reporting. Ask how any applicable inspections would be coordinated with your gates and retained uses, and which notices or records you would receive as the landowner.
Reference: Cochran County: Proposed Wildcat Ranch Energy Storage I tax agreement, January 30, 2025
Check the site plan and electrical studies separately
Ask for a completed drawing and legal description of the land requested from you. The reviewed proposal references a site attachment, but its site-description page is not populated with an actual parcel description or map. You should not have to guess where the battery area, access, electrical route or temporary work would go.
A tax incentive document does not answer all construction or electrical questions. The proposed agreement itself calls for necessary permits. Ask the developer to identify the current reviewers, permissions and electrical study status for your location. Keep those deadlines separate from the dates when it must pay you or release the land.
To start a discussion with Sunland America, send the property location, approximate acreage and contact information through the form on this page. Tell us about access you need to preserve and any proposal you have received. You do not need a finished engineering plan, and contacting us does not commit you to a lease or sale.
Reference: Cochran County: Proposed Wildcat Ranch Energy Storage I tax agreement, January 30, 2025 · Cochran County: County Judge’s office
Questions landowners ask
Are county tax payments the same as my lease rent?
No. The posted proposal describes payments to the county. Your option, rent and easement payments depend on your own agreement. Ask for a separate schedule showing amounts, due dates, increases and extension payments.
Does “Owner” in the proposed county agreement mean the landowner?
The posted Wildcat Ranch proposal defines Owner as the project company and permitted successors. Have your adviser identify the parties and duties in each document before assuming a term refers to you.
Does the posted Wildcat Ranch agreement prove it was approved and signed?
The reviewed proposed copy has blank signature lines and an incomplete site attachment. Ask for the actual decision, executed agreement and current attachments. It does not establish approval for your property.
What should I ask about a removal bond?
Who it protects, who can claim against it, the work it covers, its amount, when it takes effect and what happens on cancellation or transfer. Ask for the actual instrument and current referenced removal requirements.
Who pays if battery construction damages a road I use?
Confirm the road authority and the agreements covering that route. Negotiate clear responsibility for project damage, repairs and continued access, including private roads and shared entrances.
What happens to my lease if the project is sold?
Read its transfer terms with your adviser. Ask who assumes payments, repairs and removal obligations; whether the original company remains responsible; and how you receive notice and updated security.
What should I send to ask about my Cochran County property?
The location, approximate acreage and your contact details are enough to begin. Add what you know about access, current land uses and any offer you have received. A nearby energy project or power line does not establish available capacity for your property.
Sources & further reading
All 27 pages of the county-posted proposed Wildcat Ranch Energy Storage I agreement were visually reviewed, including the blank signature pages and incomplete site attachment. The January 30, 2025 document is used as a proposed example, not proof of execution, a current permit or a countywide requirement. Its referenced tax guidelines, removal schedule and reinvestment-zone resolution were not established by the reviewed packet. Current county judge and precinct contact pages were read. This guide does not establish the project’s current status, an available land acquisition opportunity, parcel eligibility or electrical capacity. Local rules and program details can change. Check the requirements for the actual project.