Wind and Solar Leasing in Haskell County, Texas

Two established wind farms already operating here

Horse Creek Wind Farm, near Weinert, has operated since late 2016 with 100 GE 2.3 MW turbines generating 230 MW of capacity. Willow Springs Wind Farm, also near Weinert, has operated since late 2017 at 250 MW. Both are established, revenue-generating projects rather than proposals -- meaning landowners in their vicinity have lived alongside utility-scale wind infrastructure, including its access roads, transmission lines, and substations, for close to a decade. If you're evaluating land near either project, the existing infrastructure footprint (turbine setbacks, access-road easements, and transmission corridors already in place) is a known, inspectable fact rather than a future unknown -- worth walking or mapping directly rather than assuming from a listing photo.

A new driver: Google's data centers are pulling in dedicated solar and battery capacity

The wind-lease market that's existed in Haskell County for close to a decade is now being joined by a different kind of demand. Google's November 2025 announcement of two co-located data-center campuses in Haskell County, part of a $40 billion Texas investment, includes at least one campus paired directly with a new solar-and-battery storage plant built specifically to power it -- a co-located generation model distinct from the merchant wind projects that sell power onto the broader ERCOT grid. This kind of project typically requires a large, contiguous tract with strong solar exposure and proximity to both the data-center site and transmission infrastructure, and it can mean solar-lease and transmission-easement interest in land that wouldn't previously have been considered for wind development. If you own or are considering large acreage in the county, ask specifically whether it's been approached for solar (not just wind) development -- the market driver here has genuinely diversified in the last year.

A third, different kind of energy-land deal: the Last Energy microreactor site

Separately from wind and solar leasing, Last Energy's February 2025 announcement of 30 planned nuclear microreactors on a 200-acre Haskell County site represents a fundamentally different transaction: a nuclear-plant site acquisition, not a rooftop-style lease on working farmland. As of the announcement, the project had filed for an ERCOT grid interconnection and was preparing to seek an early site permit from the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission -- meaning it was not yet fully permitted or under construction. This is not a model most Haskell County landowners will be offered directly (it involves a single large site rather than distributed leases across many parcels), but its presence is relevant context for understanding how much new electricity demand and transmission investment is converging on this specific county, which can affect future wind and solar lease interest in surrounding land as well.

What to check before signing a wind or solar lease here

1. Confirm whether you're being offered a wind lease, a solar lease, or a transmission/substation easement -- Haskell County now has active developer interest in more than one energy category, and the terms differ meaningfully between them.
2. Ask how royalty payments are calculated (per-turbine flat fee, production-based royalty, or a combination with an escalator clause) and get the specific formula in writing rather than a verbal estimate.
3. Clarify whether the lease allows continued agricultural use (grazing or farming) around turbines, solar arrays, or access roads, and what compensation applies for land taken out of production during construction.
4. Ask about decommissioning obligations and any bond or security the developer posts to fund eventual turbine or panel removal at the end of the lease term.
5. Have a Texas energy-land attorney review lease length, renewal terms, and any exclusivity or right-of-first-refusal clause before signing -- lease terms for wind, solar, and transmission easements are generally negotiable and vary significantly between developers.