Acreage Rent and Capacity Fee Billing and Collection for Intermittent Energy

Effective on August 1, 2025, Title 43 subpart 2806 provides the updated regulatory framework to implement new acreage rent and capacity fee rates required by the Act. This IM provides operational directions to ensure uniform billing and collection of acreage rents and capacity fees for solar and wind energy development projects that are sited on public lands.

This policy provides clarifying information and supplemental instructions to use in conjunction with regulations under 43 CFR 2806.52, as specified below:

Acreage Rent
Pursuant to 43 CFR 2806.52(a), the acreage rent for a solar or wind ROW must be calculated using the per-acre rate that corresponds with the following two criteria:

1. the year of ROW issuance; and,
2. the state in which the ROW is located.

In accordance with 43 CFR 2806.12, all ROW Holders must remit acreage rent payments annually by January 1, or by the date specified in their bill. Late payments may accrue, consistent with 43 CFR 2806.13. See Attachment 1 for the per-acre rates.

Capacity Fee
Pursuant to 43 CFR 2806.52(b), the ROW capacity fee shall be calculated based on the annual gross proceeds derived from the sale of electricity generated by the solar or wind energy generation facility. Unlike the acreage rent, which the Federal Land Policy and Management Act requires to be paid in advance, the Act requires the capacity fee to be calculated based on the gross proceeds of the year prior to when the fee is due. To promote timely and accurate reporting, the BLM will send a courtesy notice to each ROW Holder between October and December. This notice will provide the updated requirement to report gross proceeds for the current calendar year, and will request that the ROW Holder report the solar or wind project’s gross proceeds for the preceding year to the BLM no later than March 15^th each year. The reported annual gross proceeds will serve as the basis for calculating the capacity fee due for the preceding calendar year. The BLM anticipates issuing annual capacity fee bills no later than April 15^th each year. Holders must remit payment within 30 days, or late payments may accrue consistent with 43 CFR 2806.13. See Attachment 1.

Prorate Billing for Calendar Year 2025
Pursuant to the Act and in alignment with the BLM’s established business practices for prorating annual rent on a monthly basis, the new acreage rent and capacity fee rates for solar and wind ROW authorizations shall apply beginning August 1, 2025. As a result, the BLM is required to implement these rates as of that date. The BLM will prorate billing for calendar year 2025 accordingly and issue revised invoices reflecting the partial-year amounts owed under the new rates.

Record Inspection

To ensure the accuracy of reported gross proceeds for billing and revenue collection purposes, the BLM may conduct future inspections of project records. If discrepancies are identified, the BLM may issue corrected invoices or process applicable refunds. Errors or omissions in reported gross proceeds may result in revised billings, which could include late fees and penalties, as appropriate.

Pre-payment, Late Fees, and Penalties

Payments received in advance of the BLM issuing a bill will not be held in suspense. Payments may only be credited to a BLM-issued bill on file or must be returned to the sender. Late fees and penalties will not be applied if holders comply with the due date stated on their bill. Failure to submit payment on time may result in the assessment of late fees and penalties.

Confidential or Proprietary Information

The BLM will, to the extent allowed by law, keep confidential any information marked as “confidential” or “proprietary”, including reported gross proceeds for a project.

Notice to Holders
The BLM office responsible for administering a ROW for solar and wind energy development will send notification using the enclosed template in Attachment 2. Notices must be transmitted by December 19, 2025.