As renewable energy projects and large-scale data centers expand across the United States, the title industry is being asked to navigate increasingly complex property landscapes. For abstractors, the assignment to research land for a solar or wind farm versus a hyperscale data center may sound similar — both involve large tracts and long-term leases — but the approach, scope, and requirements differ substantially.
Scale and Configuration of the Property
Solar and Wind Projects
- Large, irregular tracts: Solar farms can span hundreds or thousands of acres; wind projects may cover even larger areas with turbine sites spread across multiple parcels and counties.
- Easement-heavy: Developers need access roads, transmission line easements, and turbine siting rights. Abstractors must verify each easement’s validity, continuity, and enforceability.
- Multi-party interests: Projects often involve dozens of landowners, each requiring lease agreements. Title must be cleared for each parcel to avoid future curtailment.
Data Centers
- Single, consolidated site: Typically sited on 50–400 acres, often purchased outright rather than leased.
- Fewer owners, fewer parcels: Research may still be complex but is usually concentrated on one tract.
- Urban/industrial overlays: Sites often lie in industrial parks or near city limits, meaning zoning restrictions and development covenants are as important as mineral rights.
Key Abstracting Priorities
For Solar/Wind Energy
- Mineral Rights: One of the most critical issues. Severed mineral estates or active mining claims can endanger project financing, since mineral rights are the dominant estate in many jurisdictions. Abstractors must search federal, state, and county records for valid claims.
- Easements & ROWs: Wind and solar projects need rights-of-way for transmission lines, substations, and access roads. Existing pipeline, rail, or utility easements can restrict turbine placement or solar panel arrays.
- Leases: Abstractors must confirm landowners’ authority to lease, resolve heirship issues, and ensure no conflicting leases exist.
- Encumbrances on multiple parcels: Mortgages, liens, unpaid taxes — any encumbrance must be resolved across dozens of parcels for the project to move forward.
For Data Centers
- Zoning & Covenants: Abstractors must ensure the property is zoned for industrial or restricted commercial use. Covenants or deed restrictions may prohibit high-intensity uses.
- Utility Easements: Data centers require robust power and fiber connectivity. Abstractors must confirm the enforceability and permanence of easements for electric substations, transmission lines, water pipelines, and broadband conduits.
- Environmental & Flood Risks: Lenders and insurers often require verification of FEMA flood zones, environmental restrictions, or prior contamination that may cloud title.
- Tax Incentives & TIF Districts: Many data center deals hinge on local tax abatements. Abstractors may need to include documentation of district boundaries or special assessments.
Documentation and Deliverables
Solar/Wind Abstract Package
- Full chain of title for each parcel (sometimes 40+ years or to patent depending on lender/underwriter).
- Mineral search with detailed status of claims, leases, or severances.
- Easement and ROW summary chart identifying transmission corridors, ingress/egress, and utilities.
- Leasehold memoranda and encumbrance analysis.
- County tax certifications for each parcel.
Data Center Abstract Package
- Title chain sufficient to show marketable fee simple ownership of the tract.
- Verification of zoning ordinances, annexations, or conditional use permits.
- Recorded plats and restrictive covenants.
- Utility easement documentation (electric, fiber, water/sewer).
- Search for financing statements (UCCs) tied to utility infrastructure.
- Tax district or incentive zone overlays.
Practical Differences in Abstractor Approach
- Breadth vs. Depth: Energy projects demand wide coverage (many parcels, many owners). Data centers demand deeper focus on a single site’s legal environment.
- Mineral vs. Zoning Priority: Solar/wind abstracting emphasizes mineral rights and easements; data centers emphasize zoning compliance and utility rights.
- Stakeholder Coordination: Energy projects involve coordination with dozens of landowners and agencies; data centers more often require communication with municipal planners and utility providers.
- Timeframe Sensitivity: Renewable projects may take years from leasing to construction, so abstractors must anticipate future risks. Data center projects often move faster, with lenders requiring clean title packages in months.
Conclusion
For abstractors, solar/wind projects and data center projects both represent the evolving frontier of real estate due diligence. The skill lies in tailoring the scope: for renewables, ensuring dispersed parcels are free of mineral and easement conflicts; for data centers, ensuring a concentrated tract has clear zoning, utility rights, and financing protections.
Delivering accurate search packages in either context requires not only thorough courthouse research, but also an awareness of how land use, technology, and infrastructure intersect with title law.
Please note: Any opinions discussed in this article belong solely to the author, Marissa Berends, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Capitol Lien.
About the Author
Marissa Berends is a Certified Abstractor and Industry Relations Coordinator at Capitol Lien, a nationwide due diligence and risk mitigation services provider. Since joining the company in September 2021, she has earned abstractor certifications in Minnesota, Nebraska, and North Dakota. She is pursuing her Wisconsin Title Examiner certification, which is expected to be completed in Fall 2025.
Marissa is involved with the following groups: Wisconsin Land Title Association’s (WLTA) Convention Committee & Young Title Professionals; Nebraska Land Title Association’s (NLTA) Convention Committee; Property Record Industry Association (PRIA) National Education Committee; Illinois Land Title Association’s (ILTA) Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Acceptance (IDEA) Committee; and the National Association of Land Title Examiners and Abstractors (NALTEA).
About Capitol Lien
Capitol Lien empowers real estate and title professionals with trusted public record research and due diligence services nationwide. With 35 years of experience, Capitol Lien specializes in fast, accurate property and title searches, lien reports, and document retrieval that help title agents, underwriters, and legal teams operate their businesses with confidence. The Capitol Lien team takes the hassle out of title research with local experts and innovative tools that make it easier to mitigate risk, stay on schedule, and keep your closings moving smoothly.
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