The Most Comprehensive Live Database of Lands Leased for Solar and Queued Solar Projects
Over the past few years, renewable energy developers have seen significant slowdowns when trying to get projects approved, built, and connected to the grid. The challenges stem from three main issues: (1) the lack of available capacity for new projects on the United States power grid, (2) the inefficient process of applying to connect a new power-generating project, known as the interconnection queue, and (3) the difficulty reaching landowners and getting their land leased for solar.
To help navigate these challenges, renewable energy developers and investors have turned to data sources for insights on actively leased land and queued solar projects. In the past, this data was difficult to come by as it was recorded through different agencies with inconsistent availability and formatting. As a solution, LandGate has created a centralized, comprehensive platform to view solar projects under site control (lands leased for solar), queued status, planned, under construction (building), or operational (active). In this article, we will take an in-depth look at how LandGate categorized, collects, and presents solar project data.
You can access LandGate’s Site Control and Queued Solar Farm Data through PowerData.
How are Solar Projects Categorized?
Along with solar projects in the Site Control stage and Queued stage, LandGate also has data on Planned, Building, and Active solar projects.
Site Control Solar Project
This status is assigned to land under a solar lease or option agreement but has not yet been added to an interconnection queue.
Queued Solar Project
This status is assigned to solar farms which have been added to an interconnection queue. Solar farms are added to a queue once an Interconnection Request is submitted to a regional transmission planning authority or a utility.
Planned Solar Project
This status is assigned to solar farms which have an Interconnection Agreement and operation date in place. At this point, the power generator (ie- developer) and grid operator have reached an agreement that establishes the grid improvements the power generator will pay for.
Building Solar Project
This status is assigned to solar farms which are under construction.
Active Solar Project
This status is assigned to solar farms which are active and producing energy.
Land Leased for Solar and Queued Solar Project Data
How to Find Land Leased for Solar?
The process of collecting data on ‘Site Control’ and ‘Queued’ status solar farms varies from area to area. Locations given the Site Control status represent lands that have been leased, or optioned for lease, with the intent of developing a solar project in the future.
To collect this data, LandGate pulled relevant documents recorded with US counties. This is typically a time-consuming and expensive process, as paid access is needed to access recorded documents, and relevant documents are often organized and named differently from county to county. This process is now 99% automated thanks to LandGate’s team of developers, with a small amount of manual quality control to ensure the data is of the highest quality.
How to Find Queued Solar Projects?
For solar projects given the queued status, LandGate compiled data from existing regional transmission planning authority interconnection queues and utility interconnection queues. From there, LandGate was either able to map the queued project with the information provided or cross-referenced it with available documents to map the project's location. In addition, our analysts were also able to go behind the LLC reported in the queue application to find out which operator is being represented, and who the point of contact is. As with Site Control data, this process has been primarily automated with a small component of manual quality control.
What Information is Available on Queued Solar Projects?
The information available for an individual solar farm is dependent on the interconnection queue it is part of, and the documents that have been recorded with the county. Generally, information on queued solar farms includes:
Solar Project Location
Farm outline, or point of interconnection
Solar Project Details
Name
AC Capacity
Estimated PPA
Solar Project Contact Information
Parent Operator (behind the LLC)
Name, Title, Phone, E-Mail
Solar Project Relevant Documents
Solar Lease or Solar Option Agreement
Solar Easement
Solar Site Assessment
Solar Interconnection Service Agreement
System Impact Study
Coverage of Solar Leases and Queued Solar Projects
Currently, LandGate’s coverage of Site Control solar projects in the United States is 99%, and coverage of Queued solar projects in the United States is 99%.
Application/Use Cases
LandGate’s robust collection of site control and queued solar farms provide value for a variety of businesses and applications. Below are just a few examples of use cases where this data could create a competitive advantage.
Site Selection
Gain a competitive advantage with the most comprehensive view of where future projects could be developed.
Avoid congested interconnection queues and potentially expensive upgrades to the power grid in areas where queued projects are located.
Remove landowners with already leased property from marketing campaigns.
M&A and Project Financing
Reveal opportunities to jump spots in the queue which can speed up time getting the project to market and avoid upgrade costs for electrical infrastructure.
Amplify due diligence and competitive intelligence by tracking portfolio, concentration, and place in the queue to reveal the full portfolio and pipeline of target developers.
Combine with LandGate's other data such as PPA, Incentive, NAVs/Cash Flows, and Listings to provide a tailored target output.
Interested in learning more? Contact our team today!
