Guides › Check a project
Is that solar or battery project real? How to check a developer's offer
A company wants to lease your land for a solar or battery project. Before you spend time and legal fees, you can check a few public records in about fifteen minutes to see whether the project exists and how far along it is.
Step 1: Find the project in ERCOT's list
Every large project that wants to connect to the ERCOT grid goes through ERCOT's interconnection process, and ERCOT publishes the list each month (ERCOT Resource Adequacy reports). We publish that list for every Texas county.
- Open your county's page and scroll to "What energy projects are proposed."
- Look for the company's name in the Developer column, or the project name. The developer listed is often a project-specific company, such as "Example Solar LLC," rather than the parent company.
- Ask the developer for the project's INR number, ERCOT's ID for each interconnection request, and match it.
Step 2: Read how far along it is
Each project on our county pages shows its stage from ERCOT's report:
| Stage | What it means |
|---|---|
| In study | ERCOT is still studying the connection. Many projects at this stage are never built. |
| Signed | The developer has signed an interconnection agreement with the transmission provider. |
| Signed; security posted | The developer has also posted financial security and given notice to proceed, a real financial commitment. |
| Under construction | Construction has started. |
| Energized or approved to connect | ERCOT has approved the project to energize or connect to the grid. |
A project further along is more likely to be built, but none of these stages is a guarantee. ERCOT notes its report is built from developer-entered data and may contain errors (ERCOT).
Step 3: Look up the company
The Texas Comptroller's Taxable Entity Search is free. Search by company name to see whether it has the right to do business in Texas, and view its Public Information Report, which lists officers and a registered agent (Texas Comptroller). The Secretary of State's SOSDirect has more detail for a $1 fee per search.
Check that the company offering you a lease matches, or is clearly connected to, the company listed with ERCOT.
What if the project isn't listed?
That alone does not mean something is wrong:
- Many developers sign options with landowners before they file with ERCOT. Signing a lease agreement does not guarantee a project (National Agricultural Law Center).
- Parts of the Panhandle and northeast and east Texas are outside ERCOT, in SPP or MISO, which keep their own lists.
- Small projects appear in ERCOT's report only when the developer allows it.
Ask the developer directly where the project is in the interconnection process and when it plans to file.
Other warning signs
Texas A&M AgriLife suggests rejecting confidentiality clauses that keep you from comparing notes with neighbors, and always having an experienced attorney review the agreement before you sign (Texas A&M AgriLife). A company that pushes you to sign quickly, or to skip your own lawyer, deserves a closer look.
Check a spot
Click your land on the map to get its free land report: flood zone, wetlands, nearest power line, soils, survey location, and the half-mile, 500-acre standout test. In Texas, parcel acreage fills in automatically.
General information, not legal advice. ERCOT data is updated monthly on our county pages.
Related: All ERCOT proposed projects · Solar option agreements