Minerals Insurance & ALTA Coverage – Large-Scale Solar

Regardless of the jurisdiction or project type — solar or wind — minerals insurance and ALTA coverage is essential for lenders and investors. On a large solar project in Kern County, California, the mineral interests had been assigned away many years earlier to three separate charitable organizations: one in Monterey, one in San Francisco, and one in the Bay Area.

Each organization was governed by a fiduciary board with specific legal obligations. Before the project could move forward, TerraPro Solutions needed to approach each board individually, help them understand mineral severance in the context of energy project development, and negotiate the acquisition of their mineral interests at prices that satisfied both their fiduciary duties and the project's financial requirements.

The project also required ALTA title insurance coverage to address any encroachment, encumbrance, violation, variation, or adverse circumstance affecting the title that would be disclosed by an accurate and complete land survey.

These were difficult and complicated negotiations. They involved consulting with local firms to understand the nature and value of the minerals — coal and other subsurface minerals specific to Kern County — as well as the costs associated with severance.

TerraPro Solutions worked closely with each charitable board to help them understand mineral severance and solar development, formulating a fair resolution that met their fiduciary obligations without blocking the project's financial requirements.

The negotiations were ultimately successful. TerraPro Solutions negotiated very low purchase prices for all three mineral interests — preserving the value and monetization potential of the solar project while ensuring full insurability for the lender.

Both minerals insurance and ALTA coverage were secured in coordination, allowing the project to close on schedule. The strategic approach — identifying the severed mineral interests early, engaging the right local consultants, and working patiently with each fiduciary board — was the key to preserving deal value and keeping the lender confident throughout the process.