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Wind & Solar Deals
Know the terms before you sign.

Solar and wind projects tie up farmland for 30 years or more. The first document you're handed, usually heads of terms or an option agreement, sets most of what follows. That's the one to get right.

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Call or WhatsApp Fergus on 087 390 3474

Sound Familiar?

  • A solar company has offered us an option on 80 acres
  • A land agent dropped in heads of terms to sign
  • A wind developer wants to measure on our hill
  • We don't know if the rent per acre is any good

What I Look At

  • Option length, option fee and what happens if the project is never built
  • Rent per acre or per megawatt, indexation and rent reviews
  • Which fields are tied up, plus access, cable and grid connection routes
  • Fencing, drainage, grazing sheep between panels and reinstatement
  • Decommissioning bonds: who pays to clear the site at the end
  • Questions for your farm adviser on BISS, ACRES and other payments

What You Get

  • A plain-English read of the heads of terms or option agreement
  • Which terms are standard, which are weak and which to push on
  • A list of questions to put back to the developer
  • A brief for your solicitor before anything is signed

I've done this on the project side. I negotiated option agreements with landowners for a solar development in Co. Cork, so I know how these deals are put together and where there's room to move.

Who You May Be Dealing With

  • Solar developers
  • Wind farm developers
  • Land agents
  • ESB Networks and EirGrid (grid connection)
  • County councils (planning)
  • An Coimisiún Pleanála

Contact

Talk to Fergus About Your Farm

Tell me what's happened. I'll come back to you promptly, and everything you share stays confidential.

I give practical advice, not legal, tax or financial advice. I'll tell you when you need a solicitor, accountant or registered valuer, and help you brief them.