I'm a Landholder
How renewable projects can benefit landholders
Private landowners, especially those in regional areas, are playing an important role in the State’s energy transition by hosting new renewable energy projects on their land.
Income
Hosting wind turbines can provide a diversified income for landholders over the life of their agreement with the developer, which typically lasts 20 - 30 years. This income is separate to agricultural or other income streams that a landowner may receive for operations on their property.
Property Upgrades
As part of the construction process, the developer will need to access internal roads and may need to remove existing fences. When discussing these matters as part of the terms of an agreement, landowners can also enquire about options for additional benefits such as upgrades to internal access roads and fencing, potentially adding value to their property.
Community Benefits
Renewable energy projects can bring benefits to hosting communities. To support meaningful benefits arrangements, the State Government expects that developers provide community benefits payments in line with the relevant Community Benefits Guideline.
Dual land use
The term ‘dual use’ refers to renewable energy projects and landowners working on the land at the same time. For example, a landowner continuing to graze sheep as part of their agricultural business while simultaneously hosting wind turbines on their land. Wind and solar farms are often designed to be dual use over their lifecycles so that they can coexist with agriculture and other land uses.
Neighbour Payments
By hosting wind turbines on your land, you are not only contributing to WA’s energy future - you are also creating potential opportunities for your neighbours to benefit. It is becoming more prevalent for developers to offer Neighbour Agreements, which provide payments to nearby landholders based on their proximity to turbines.
Although such arrangements are voluntary, they are widely considered to be best practice as they help ensure the benefits of a project are shared with impacted neighbours.
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Resources
To support landowners in navigating the opportunities and processes involved in hosting renewable energy infrastructure, PoweringWA has developed a resource for landowners considering hosting wind farm projects. This toolkit is designed to help landowners across WA make informed decisions when considering hosting wind turbines on their private, freehold land, or when they are a neighbour to a proposed wind farm. It can be downloaded at the link below:
Partnerships with developers
Developers looking to begin a new renewable project will start by looking for a location that has suitable wind or solar resources, good land availability and is close to existing or planned transmission infrastructure.
Get in touch
If you have questions, concerns or need help to find more information, please email our PoweringWA Community Support team at PoweringWAsupport@deed.wa.gov.au.
For Community
WA is modernising its electricity system by delivering new renewable generation, energy storage and transmission projects so we can meet this growth with affordable and reliable low emissions energy.
I'm Part of a Hosting Community
The energy transition will create new opportunities for communities hosting renewable infrastructure, including local employment, growth for local businesses, and investments in communities and infrastructure.
I'm a Traditional Owner
The State Government is committed to making sure that Traditional Owners and Aboriginal communities can participate in the energy transition on their own terms and with the tools and information they need to realise new opportunities.