Aerial view of solar panels in a rural field surrounded by green farmland

For landowners

Your land is the foundation of every project we build.

Lease or sell land in IL, IA, MO, or NY for community solar — and gain decades of predictable income without giving up the legacy you've built.

Get a free site evaluation

Why us

A small developer. A long-term commitment.

You'll know the people deciding.

Harvest is a small, founder-led team by design. The person who answers your first call is the same person guiding your project to construction.

The land comes first.

We design projects around your land — not the other way around. Where it makes sense, we incorporate pollinator habitat, sheep grazing, or other dual-use practices. We never pave.

Decommissioning is in writing.

Every lease includes binding terms for restoring the land at end of life. The next generation inherits the same ground you stewarded.

The economics

Steady income for 25 to 35 years.

Lease rates depend on acreage, location, proximity to interconnection, and project size. For a typical community solar project in our markets, landowners can expect annual lease payments that significantly exceed agricultural cash rents on the same acreage, paid every year for the life of the project.

We provide specific lease economics during the feasibility conversation. We don't quote a number until we've evaluated your specific land.

Every site is different. Lease rates, acreage requirements, and project fit depend on the specifics of your land and the local utility interconnection environment.

Site fit

Not every parcel is a fit. Here's what helps.

Acreage. Most community solar projects need 30 to 60 contiguous acres of usable land. Smaller and larger sites can work depending on state program rules.
Proximity to power lines. Sites within close range of a distribution or sub-transmission line are easier to interconnect.
Open and relatively flat. Cleared agricultural land works best. Wooded sites can sometimes work with selective clearing.
Outside floodplains and wetlands. We screen for environmental constraints early.
Willing landowner. This matters as much as anything technical. We work best with landowners who want to be partners.

What to expect

Four steps, on your timeline.

Initial conversation.

We talk by phone or in person. No paperwork. We listen first — to understand your land, your goals, and your concerns.

Free feasibility check.

We evaluate your property against grid, regulatory, and environmental criteria. If the site doesn't qualify, we tell you honestly and the process ends there. You owe nothing.

Lease or purchase agreement.

If the site qualifies, we present terms in plain language. We strongly encourage you to have your own attorney review. Nothing is signed under pressure.

Development and construction.

Once the agreement is in place, we manage the 12 to 24 months of permitting and interconnection, followed by 6 to 9 months of construction. Your lease payments begin when the project starts producing power.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Community solar is a shared solar project that delivers electricity to subscribers in the same utility territory. Instead of putting panels on their own roofs, subscribers — households, small businesses, municipal accounts — receive credits on their utility bills for their share of the project's output. Your land hosts the project; the energy benefits the broader community.

Lease rates depend on acreage, location, proximity to interconnection, and project size, but they typically exceed agricultural cash rents on the same land by a meaningful margin. We provide specific numbers during the feasibility conversation. We don't quote rates until we've looked at your specific site.

Typical leases run 25 to 35 years, including options. The term reflects the operating life of the project. You receive an annual lease payment every year of the term, with built-in escalators.

Every lease we sign includes binding decommissioning terms. At end of life, we remove the equipment, restore the soil, and return the land to the condition we found it in — or better. The next generation inherits the land intact.

In some cases, yes. Sheep grazing under solar arrays ("solar grazing") is an established practice and we're open to it where the project design supports it. Pollinator habitat and native ground cover are common. Row-crop agriculture under arrays is more limited but evolving — we'll discuss the specific options for your site.

Typically 12 to 24 months from signed lease to construction start. The timeline depends on the local utility's interconnection process, state permitting, and county-level zoning. We manage all of it; you're updated at every milestone.

Property tax treatment of solar projects varies by state and county. In most of our markets, the project itself generates new tax revenue for the local jurisdiction without changing the underlying land classification. We'll walk you through how this works in your specific county before any agreement is signed.

Most of our agreements include an option period before the long-term lease takes effect. During the option period, terms vary by site, but landowners typically retain the ability to walk away if their circumstances change before construction begins. We'll explain the specific terms of any agreement before you sign.

No. We handle all site preparation, fencing, access roads, and construction. You don't pay for development, permitting, engineering, or construction at any point.

We engage local communities early — we hold informational meetings, meet with county officials, and address concerns directly. Most projects proceed with broad community support; some face organized opposition. We won't ask you to be the one defending the project. That's our job.

Tell us about your land.

We respond to every inquiry within two business days. There's no obligation.