Our Services
JAS Power – in partnership with Greenvolt Power and Green Tower – unites the expertise of a global powerhouse with local knowledge by combining JAS’s project origination and development skills with Greenvolt’s decades of international experience in the renewable energy sector.
As a result, our team is delighted to offer landowners the opportunity to generate additional sources of long-lasting, reliable, predictable income.
This joint venture will provide a variety of technologies including solar photovoltaics and battery energy storage systems. Our goal is to collaborate with farmers to develop projects that may allow producers to continue agricultural operations while creating solid evergreen revenue streams.
Our Expertise
With a proven track record of over 25 years of experience in delivering innovative renewable energy solutions, we pride ourselves on our commitment to transparency, integrity, and excellence.
Our team of experts work endlessly to develop sustainable energy projects that not only meet the highest standards of quality and efficiency but also foster long-term relationships built on trust.
By partnering with us, landowners can have confidence that they’re collaborating with a dependable partner dedicated to driving positive change for our planet and future generations.
Solar Ground Leases with Agricultural Production
We specialize in solar development projects with a unique focus on, wherever possible, continued agricultural production. Our tailored approach considers the specific needs of farmers – Ensuring mutually beneficial agreements that optimize both land use and revenue streams.
By seamlessly integrating photovoltaic infrastructure with agricultural operations, we not only provide a reliable source of energy but also help support rural communities and contribute to the continual viability of farming practices.
Community Relations
Community engagement is essential to the success of any solar project, especially in rural areas. We recognize the importance of listening to and collaborating with landowners, residents, and stakeholders to ensure that our solar installations and operations meet their needs and priorities.
Through open dialogue, education, and local partnerships, we strive to build trust and foster long-standing relationships with rural communities. By working together, we can harness the power of the sun to create economic opportunities and empower residents to be part of their energy future.
Project and Environmental Permitting
Our team of experts is adept in navigating the complex regulatory requirements and environmental considerations involved in the solar development process. From conducting thorough site surveys to collaborating with governing authorities, we ensure that our solar farms comply with all necessary permits and regulations while minimizing ecological impact.
Prioritizing sustainability and responsible land use practices, we strive to create solar projects that not only generate green energy but also preserve and protect the habitats and natural resources in the areas where we operate.
Project Grid Interconnection
From conducting detailed feasibility studies to coordinating with local utilities, we manage all aspects of grid interconnection with precision and proficiency. We prioritize reliability and compliance, ensuring that our solar farms seamlessly integrate with the existing grid infrastructure and unlock the full potential of solar energy for the landowners we work with.
Design and Layout
With extensive experience in navigating the intersection of renewable energy and agriculture, we understand the delicate balance required to maximize land productivity while harnessing solar energy for sustainable power generation.
Our designs prioritize flexibility and scalability, allowing for easy adaptation to changing agricultural practices and potential operational expansion. We focus on maximizing both agricultural and energy production, creating innovative solutions that benefit farmers and the environment alike.
Our Team
Jeff Allan
Mr. Allan focuses on siting, lease and LOI negotiations, and connection viability for solar and BESS projects. He had a 20-year plus career at Ontario Hydro in design and construction management for utility transmission and distribution. The last 14 years have seen Jeff start his own renewable energy company where he specialized in siting, negotiating leases, and selling development projects to strategic players for final construction. Prior to establishing JAS Power, Jeff was a Manager of Solar and BESS project development for an $18 Billion publicly traded company across the USA and Canada. His responsibilities for JAS Power include originating viable project locations, negotiating leases, and permitting applications for solar and BESS projects.
Ansar Gafur
Mr. Gafur focuses on project siting, permitting, interconnection and procurement. Over the last 20 years, Mr. Gafur has developed more than 1,300 MW of solar and wind generation capacity across Canada and the U.S. and concluded several billion dollars of M&A transactions. Mr. Gafur was co-founder of AIM PowerGen Corporation, now part of Engie North America, and took AIM PowerGen from startup to multi-billion dollar power producer. Mr. Gafur was an early proponent of renewable energy and has been a driver of the industry’s rapid growth, accounting for several billion dollars of renewable energy transactions and a broad network of partners across the independent power industry’s regulatory, manufacturing, construction, financial and legal fields.
Stuart Smith
Mr. Smith focuses on project regulatory and commercial structures and capitalization. With more than 5 GW / 30 years of independent power development and financing experience in North and South America, Asia, Australia and Europe, Mr. Smith has a deep understanding of power development and stakeholder requirements, regulatory frameworks, and technologies. Mr. Smith was previously Global Head of Structured Finance for Vestas Wind Systems, Founder and Managing Director of the international power developer, Senvion Ventures, a founding General Manager of China International Capital Corporation, and an advisor to independent power companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean to lease your land for solar development?
Solar energy projects require land for installation of the solar panels, the cables connecting the solar panels, the inverters that convert the direct current (DC) energy generated by the panels to the alternating current (AC) energy transmitted into the grid, and the transformers and other equipment required to connect the solar energy project to the grid. Solar projects may also include battery energy storage systems co-located on the land leased for the solar project.
Under a solar ground lease, the landowner grants our team the right to develop, construct and operate a solar project on the leased land in exchange for rent payments. As solar energy projects have long operating lives, our solar ground leases have extended terms and may provide landowners with quarterly operating period lease payments out 40 years.
How are the leases structured?
Our agreements are structured to include three phases: development, construction and operations. We first enter into an agreement with the landowner which includes permission acknowledgment forms allowing us to submit into the local utility for connection feasibility studies. That agreement then rolls into signing of a long-term option to lease agreement that includes all the lease documentation.
The lease documentation grants us the ability to create and develop the legal and regulatory framework for the project, construct the project, and operate the project. In exchange, we make payments to the landowner after signing of the agreement upon the achievement of specified milestones, annual development period payments, quarterly in advance per acre construction period payments and once the project enters operation, long-term quarterly in advance per acre lease payments.
Depending on the land and the project design, some of the project’s leased lands (which will be fenced for security and safety) may be available for agricultural use during the project’s operating period.
What are my obligations if I enter into a solar ground lease?
The landowner incurs no financial obligation for the project installed on the leased land. We are responsible for any tax increases that will be levied on the installed solar energy project as well as the decommissioning of the project which includes remediating the land the solar energy project occupied at the expiry of the lease.
The landowner is responsible for granting access to the land for the purposes of the project’s development, construction and operations.
What are the benefits of leasing my land for solar energy development?
Solar energy projects are long lived infrastructure assets that make stable, reliable, long-lasting lease payments to landowners. Those payments provide landowners with a measure of economic certainty that can support farming operations or other land uses. Put another way, solar ground leases enable landowners to reliably harvest sunshine rather than the uncertainty that can come with growing, harvesting and marketing agricultural products.
But depending on the land and the project design, landowners may be able to do both. Further, the landowner has options with respect to the long-term rental payments; they can be leveraged or assigned, the leased land can still be sold (Subject to the lease), and there are parties that may purchase the future lease payments from the landowner.
How are solar energy projects developed? What are the risks?
Not all projects make it into construction and operations. As with any other business, there are many variables that impact the power industry, including transmission capacity, power prices, and power demand.
The first development phase covers the period during which the project is tested and studied for connection feasibility with the local utility. This early study period may include some design and engineering. If interconnection feasibility is established, the project will move into design, engineering, environmental studies, permitting and economic studies. Equipment and construction procurement follows successful permitting and economic analysis, allowing the project to move into construction.
When the utility company receiving power from the project is satisfied with the equipment verifications, testing, grounding integrity, etc. they will then “close the switch” and energize the project, allowing the project’s energy production to flow into the grid. This is the date on which the landowner starts to receive quarterly rental payments per acre for the life of the project.
Prior to commercial operations, the landowner receives an upfront payment, annual development period payments, and monthly construction period payments.
How long do solar energy projects last?
Solar energy projects have long lives that last up to 40 years, and provide landowners with a stable, predictable annual income stream paid on a quarterly basis.
How much land is required?
The land requirement is dependent on the size of the project. This joint venture focuses on smaller solar projects, also known as community solar or distributed generation (DG), so our land requirements are generally 25-30 acres per project.
However, there are occasions when a larger project installation is feasible, and we will ask to lease more acres of land. A general rule of thumb for single axis tracker solar facilities in today’s market is approximately 5 acres per megawatt (MW).
Once the solar energy plant is designed and engineered, the land leased for the project is refined and the landowner is free to use the land outside of the project’s fenced area for farming or other purposes.
Please click [here] for some examples of Greenvolt’s distributed generation projects.
Can I still access the land I have leased?
During the development period, your agricultural operations are not really affected. Your land usage, or your cash-cropper’s usage, continues unchanged during the development period.
Any entry by ourselves or our subcontractors are generally very non-intrusive. Examples of such entries would be for studies required by governmental authorities as we go through the development permitting process. They can include soil studies, topography surveys, archeological, plant, tree, bat, bird, frog studies, etc.
Our relationship with you is very important to us, and neither we nor our subcontractors will enter your lands without confirmed communications with you.
Why should I lease to JAS and Greenvolt Power?
Not every project succeeds – Power project development takes time and can be difficult. JAS Power and Greenvolt Power have many decades of accumulated experience in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia, the financial backing and expertise of Green Tower and Greenvolt Power, and the local development knowledge of JAS Power.
If we’re interested in your property, it means we have already concluded an initial assessment that your property has the characteristics indicative of project viability. We do not mass market ourselves, nor are we interested in blanket coverage of regions or locales: We target properties that meet our well-defined criteria for success.
We believe leasing to our team enhances your prospects of project success and guarantees you a stream of evergreen rental payments.
What benefits will my community receive?
The power produced by community and distributed generation solar projects is usually consumed by the community where the project is located as well as nearby farms and towns. Community and distributed generation projects strengthen local grids and make them more reliable.
Solar projects, even of the relatively small size, comprise of significant multi-million dollar investments that create construction, operating and maintenance jobs, increase the local tax base, and inject money directly into the community via the lease payments to our landowners.
Our Locations
We work anywhere there’s sun – If you have land and are interested in exploring the endless benefits that solar energy can bring, reach out to our team at [email protected] or [email protected] to learn more.
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