For Landowners

Solar Developments on Farmland

Solar developments on farmland use a portion of the land to build a solar energy “farm”. Land is rented from the landowner on a long-term lease basis, around 30 years.

Landowners decide to lease their land to a solar development for a few reasons. Sometimes, they have much land to farm or portions of their farm have been less productive recently. In this case, you put your land to good use and make passive income on each acre leased.

During the life of the solar development, farmers often can utilize the leased lands in some ways; for instance, planting native grasses and flowers to improve pollinator habitat, planting bumper crops or bringing in livestock to graze. At the end of the life of the project, panels and infrastructure are removed and landowners can go back to farming land with even higher quality soil due to the fallow years.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Farmers own land which sometimes is very valuable land for solar development. Farmers may not need all of their land and may want passive income on land they do not plan to farm.

    We find land which is valuable land for solar development, out of all the possible sites.

    We then work with you- the landowner, if interested in leasing and work with solar developers who want to build a development on your land.

    We are the connection point and sell the possibility of your land being developed on to the company which would develop it.

  • We site only top-tier sites. Because of this, there is a higher chance that if we have identified your site as a viable site for solar development, there is a high chance it will be leased by a developer. Further, since we site top-tier sites, we will be asking for higher lease rates for you.

  • Ray Land Scouts find the most optimal sites for solar development and with such sites, landowners can make expect to earn between $1000 and $2,000 per acre of land leased.

    This means that medium-sized sites can earn a landowner $30,000 a year. A large site can earn a landowner $100,000 a year or much more.

  • Utility-scale solar developments typically use anywhere between 25 acres and 400 acres. This just depends on the land and the possible size of the site, along with how much land you offer for leasing.

  • After leasing your land with a developer, it normally takes between 2 and 5 years for construction to start. In that time, you can typically use the land as you like.

    Then construction takes between 6 months and one year.

    During the operational period, (around 25 years) when the solar site is being run, the land can be used for native grasses or even grazing by livestock such as sheep and goats.

    After the operational period, and the entire development is taken down, the land is back in use by the landowner. The land and soil should be in wonderful condition.

  • We are honest, transparent people who care for the land, for the landowners and for sustainable energy. We are not pushy and are very open with both landowners and developers.