From TxDOT highway takings and new 765kV transmission corridors to pipeline easements, solar farms, and data center power infrastructure — National ROW fights to maximize your compensation. Zero upfront cost. Texas landowner side only.
Texas has some of the most active condemnation markets in the country. TxDOT operates 25 districts covering more than 80,000 lane-miles. Pipeline companies, electric utilities, and now data center power developers are acquiring right-of-way at a pace unseen in decades. If you have received an offer or a knock at the door, you need to understand your rights immediately.
Texas eminent domain authority is governed by Texas Property Code Chapter 21. Condemning entities — including TxDOT, pipeline companies, electric co-ops, and investor-owned utilities — must follow a strict process: they must provide the Landowner Bill of Rights (§21.0112), obtain a written appraisal, and make a bona fide offer before filing a condemnation petition.
Under Texas law, every entity with condemnation authority must deliver the Landowner Bill of Rights to you before making an initial offer. It outlines your right to a written appraisal, your right to reject the offer, your right to hire your own appraiser or consultant, and your right to a special commissioner hearing and jury trial. Do not waive these rights without a professional review of the offer.
If you and the condemning entity cannot agree on compensation, the case goes to a panel of three special commissioners appointed by a county court judge. The commissioners hear evidence and set the award. Either side can then appeal to the district court for a full jury trial under §21.018. National ROW prepares landowners for every stage of this process.
The condemning entity must make a bona fide offer — a good-faith offer based on a written appraisal — before it can file a condemnation petition. If the offer is not bona fide, the entire proceeding can be challenged. National ROW reviews every offer for compliance before advising clients on next steps.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) has approved a multi-year, multi-billion-dollar Long-Range Transmission Plan that includes new 765kV extra-high-voltage transmission lines crossing hundreds of miles of Texas ranchland, farmland, and private property. This is the largest grid expansion in Texas history — and ROW acquisition is already underway in some corridors.
→ Learn your rights as an ERCOT 765kV landowner
AEP Texas, Oncor, and their contractors are actively sending ROW agents to landowners along proposed 765kV corridors. These agents represent the utility — not you. Their opening offer is almost never the maximum you are entitled to under Texas law.
ERCOT's Long-Range Transmission Plan (LRTP) is a series of major transmission projects designed to move power from generation-rich West Texas and the Panhandle to load centers in DFW, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin. The 765kV voltage class — higher than any existing Texas transmission lines — is needed to carry enormous amounts of power efficiently over long distances. Projects span multiple transmission owners including AEP Texas and Oncor.
These corridors run through West Texas, the Permian Basin, Central Texas, South Texas, and the Gulf Coast region. Affected counties include — but are not limited to — counties along the I-20 and I-10 corridors, the Hill Country, and rural North and South Texas. This project is expected to span 5 to 10 years of active construction and ROW acquisition.
Transmission companies in Texas have eminent domain authority under the Public Utility Regulatory Act (PURA) and the Texas Utilities Code. If you and the utility cannot agree on compensation, they can condemn the easement through the special commissioner process under Texas Property Code Chapter 21. However, the company must make a bona fide offer first — and that offer must be based on a legitimate appraisal that accounts for all damages, not just the raw easement strip value.
TxDOT manages one of the largest state highway systems in the nation. Whether your property fronts a U.S. highway, a state highway, or an interstate, TxDOT condemnation activity touches every corner of Texas. National ROW has experience across all 25 TxDOT districts.
Active TxDOT condemnation corridors include I-35 expansion (Austin/San Antonio/North Texas), SH 99 Grand Parkway (Houston metro), US-281 widening (South Texas), Loop 1604 (San Antonio), and numerous rural farm-to-market road realignments throughout Central and West Texas.
TxDOT is required to pay the market value of the property taken plus any severance damages to the remainder. This includes loss of frontage, loss of access, changes in drainage, impacts to irrigation, crop damage during construction, and any diminution in value to the rest of your tract caused by the project or its use.
Texas is home to more pipeline infrastructure than any other state. Natural gas, crude oil, refined products, CO₂, and water transmission pipelines crisscross the state, and new pipeline projects are constantly being proposed. Major Texas pipeline operators include Kinder Morgan, Energy Transfer, Enterprise Products, TC Energy, Boardwalk Pipeline, and Enbridge.
Common carrier pipeline companies regulated by the Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) hold eminent domain authority under the Texas Natural Resources Code. However, the company must demonstrate valid common carrier status and make a bona fide offer before proceeding with condemnation. National ROW challenges lowball pipeline offers and ensures landowners are compensated for temporary workspace, permanent easement strips, damage to surface, crop damage, and long-term remainder impacts.
Carbon capture projects and CO₂ pipeline networks are rapidly expanding across Texas, particularly in the Permian Basin and Gulf Coast regions. These new pipeline types bring unique valuation questions and unresolved eminent domain authority issues. National ROW monitors these cases closely to protect landowner rights.
Texas has the most electric transmission infrastructure of any state. The ERCOT grid is expanding at an unprecedented rate driven by explosive load growth from data centers, AI computing facilities, oil field electrification, and population growth. Transmission ROW acquisitions are being conducted by:
Whether you face a new 765kV high-voltage line, a 345kV upgrade, or a distribution substation, National ROW reviews your easement offer for fair market value, tower line impacts, restricted use areas, and all compensable damages.
Texas leads the nation in both wind and solar energy generation. The Permian Basin, West Texas, the Panhandle, and South Texas are home to some of the largest solar and wind projects in the country. Developers — including NextEra Energy, Invenergy, Vestas, Enel Green Power, Lightsource bp, and Pattern Energy — typically approach landowners with long-term easement or lease agreements lasting 25 to 40 years.
These agreements are complex, involve permanent or semi-permanent land restrictions, and require careful review. National ROW evaluates solar and wind agreements for fair annual payments, escalator clauses, decommissioning obligations, surface use restrictions, and impact on neighboring tracts.
Texas — particularly the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and its surrounding counties — has become one of the world's largest data center markets. Hyperscale campuses operated by Microsoft, Google, Meta, Amazon Web Services, and Oracle are driving demand for enormous amounts of new high-voltage power infrastructure. Every gigawatt of new data center load requires new transmission lines, substations, and distribution feeders — all of which require right-of-way from private landowners.
The 765kV ERCOT transmission expansion is directly connected to this data center power demand. Properties in Tarrant, Parker, Hood, Palo Pinto, Erath, Eastland, Callahan, Nolan, Taylor, and surrounding counties may be in the path of these new power corridors.
Data center developers themselves (Microsoft, Google, Meta, etc.) do not have condemnation authority in Texas. However, the regulated electric utilities and transmission companies providing power to their campuses — AEP Texas, Oncor, and others — do hold full condemnation authority. If a utility contacts you about an easement tied to powering a data center, your rights are identical to any other transmission taking.
Do not sign any offer or easement agreement until you have an independent review. National ROW evaluates your situation at no cost and no obligation — and we only get paid when we get you more.
Get Your Free Texas Case ReviewERCOT's Long-Range Transmission Plan (LRTP) includes new 765kV extra-high-voltage transmission lines spanning hundreds of miles across Texas to move power from West Texas and the Panhandle to major load centers. AEP Texas and Oncor are the primary transmission developers. ROW acquisition is ongoing, and landowners in affected counties should not sign any easement without an independent review. The project spans multiple years and will require easements from thousands of private landowners.
Under Texas Property Code §21.0112, every entity with condemnation authority must deliver the Landowner Bill of Rights to you before making an initial offer. It describes your right to a written appraisal, your right to reject the initial offer, your right to hire your own appraiser or consultant, and your right to a special commissioner hearing and jury trial. Failure to properly deliver this document can be challenged in the condemnation process.
TxDOT and utilities must give you a reasonable period to respond — typically at least 30 days per the bona fide offer letter. You are not required to accept the first offer. Acting promptly allows National ROW to review the appraisal, identify all compensable damages, and prepare a counter-offer before a condemnation petition is filed.
Yes. Common carrier pipeline companies regulated by the Texas Railroad Commission (TRC) have eminent domain authority under the Texas Natural Resources Code. However, the company must demonstrate valid common carrier status and make a bona fide offer before proceeding with condemnation. National ROW reviews whether the condemning entity's authority is properly established before advising on a response.
Under Texas Property Code §21.042, just compensation is the market value of the property taken plus all damages to the remainder caused by the taking and its use. This includes loss of access, severance damages, crop damage, disruption to irrigation or surface operations, diminution of surrounding land value, and any other consequential impacts. National ROW works with qualified appraisers to document every element of compensable damage.
Yes. Landowners along transmission lines built to power data centers have the same rights as any other condemnation. The utility acquiring the easement must follow Texas Property Code Chapter 21, deliver the Landowner Bill of Rights, provide a written appraisal, and make a bona fide offer. National ROW has experience with these data center power corridor acquisitions in the DFW metro and surrounding counties.
"We never tell a landowner to just take what the government offers — we find out what they are actually owed."
Whether you have received a TxDOT offer, a transmission company easement proposal, a pipeline offer, or a visit from a 765kV ROW agent — National ROW reviews your case for free and advises you on next steps. No upfront cost. No obligation.