Landowners
If you hold land, start here.
We lease land for large-scale solar, wind and battery projects. It is worth understanding what we look for and how the process works before you talk to anyone.
What we look for
Not every property suits this.
The single biggest factor is the network. A site close to a transmission line or a substation with spare capacity can work. One a long way from either usually cannot, whatever else it has going for it.
| Distance to transmission | Close to a line or substation that still has capacity |
|---|---|
| Land area | A battery can sit on a few hectares. A solar project of any scale needs several hundred |
| Terrain and land use | Relatively flat, cleared or lightly vegetated, grazing or marginal cropping country |
| Planning | Zoning that permits the use, and no fatal environmental or heritage constraint |
| Neighbours | Distance to houses, and whether neighbouring landholders are likely to participate |
How it works
What each step commits you to.
Have your own lawyer read the option agreement before you sign it, and send us the bill. We meet your reasonable legal costs of reviewing and negotiating it.
During the option we carry the cost of the grid, planning and environmental work. That is where most of the money goes and all of it is at our risk.
How you would be paid
It depends on the technology and the area used.
Solar is paid on the area under the array. Wind is paid per turbine, and the rest of the property keeps working around it. A battery uses very little land. A transmission easement is paid differently again.
Three things hold across all of them. Payments start when the option is signed, well before construction. They are indexed. And what happens if the project is sold is written into the agreement at the start, so a change of owner does not change your position.
We will give you a number for your land, and show you how we arrived at it.
What we commit to
- Your reasonable legal costs of reviewing and negotiating the agreement, met by us
- Open-book terms, and an explanation of how any number is built
- Direct dealing with the principals who run the project
- A straight answer early if the site does not work
- Economic participation for Traditional Owners designed in with the project, and agreed before approvals are sought
Questions we get asked
The things landholders ask before they sign.
Do I need my own lawyer?
Yes, and we pay for it. An option agreement is a long document with a lot in it, and you should have somebody independent read it and negotiate it for you. Our agreements meet your reasonable legal costs of doing that, so the only thing standing between you and proper advice is finding a solicitor.
Can I keep farming?
Mostly, yes. Wind takes the turbine bases and the access tracks and the rest of the property keeps working around them. A battery sits inside a small fenced compound. Solar is the exception, because the area under the array comes out of conventional production, although sheep commonly graze between the rows.
How long does this run?
The option runs for a fixed term while the grid, planning and environmental work is done, and it can usually be extended once if those processes run long. If it converts, the lease runs for the operating life of the project. Both terms are agreed at the start and written into the same document.
What if you sell the project?
Your agreement travels with it. The payments, the term and the obligations bind whoever holds the project, and a change of owner does not reopen your terms. We settle that at the start, because we develop projects that are intended to be sold or taken forward with a partner, and you should not be the one carrying that risk.
Can I still sell the property?
Yes. The agreement is registered against the title, so a purchaser takes the land subject to it and inherits the income with it. What that means for your own circumstances is a question for your adviser, and it is one of the things their review should cover.
Are you talking to my neighbours?
Often, because a project of this size usually needs more than one property. We will tell you whether neighbouring land is part of what we are looking at. We will not tell you what anybody else has been offered, and we will not tell them what you have.
Who pays the rates?
Any increase in rates or land tax that comes from the project sitting on your land is ours to carry, and it is written into the agreement so it is settled before you sign.
And at the end of the project?
The agreement sets out what is removed when the project finishes, what stays if you want it, who does the rehabilitation work and the security that stands behind the obligation to do it. Ask to see that clause early. It is the one most people read last.
Get in touch
Tell us about your land.
The more you can tell us, the faster we can come back with something useful. Nothing here commits you to anything.