On a nippy fall evening, a golden sun cast a cinematic glow over Renée Wilson’s small northern Maryland farm. Horses whinnied and cows scoffed against the backdrop of cascading red and yellow hills.

In a small office near the stables and pigeon cage, Wilson pulled a large white file holder off a shelf and rifled through a wad of pamphlets. Each one offered her more money than the last to lease her land for energy projects, such as community solar and battery storage, for as long as 40 years.

Nexamp noted that owners of properties in the area are receiving $100,000 or more for their land each year. Lodestar Energy dangled $150,000 a year, and Chaberton Energy one-upped both with an offer up to $200,000 annually.

All this paper was wasted on Wilson.

“I have such a rich life without the m

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