Over 90% of landowners are considering renewable energy schemes, according to a Knight Frank survey at the CLA Game Fair today

• 92% of landowners polled by Knight Frank at the CLA Game Fair said they were considering some form of renewable electricity generation schemes on their estate

• 80% said the introduction of the renewable energy feed-in tariff had encouraged them to investigate renewable energy schemes

• Wind power was the most popular form of renewable generation, with 56% of respondents saying they would consider putting turbines on their land. Solar photovoltaic was considered an option by 52% while 28% were interested in hydro schemes and 24% in anaerobic digestion

Christopher Smith, head of Knight Frank’s Renewables and Energy department, commented:

“The results of our survey confirm the appetite of rural landowners for renewable electricity generation. They also show how successful the introduction of renewable energy feed-in tariffs has been in encouraging people to invest in renewable schemes. Of the people we questioned only 8% currently generate renewable electricity on their estates, now we have FITs almost 100% are planning to get involved in some sort of way.

“Because FIT tariffs are guaranteed for up to 25 years they offer landowners a long-term income generation stream. For many estates that have seen their agricultural incomes fall sharply, renewable energy will completely transform their balance sheets.

On one estate that I looked at two modest 275kw wind turbines will increase the annual income from £150/acre to £400/acre.

Renewable energy also offers the potential for pension planning. One client, for example, is considering investing his pension pot in a photovoltaic scheme that will cost £350,000, but will generate an annual income of £35,000.

“I believe that renewable energy will become an increasingly common revenue generator on rural estates as almost every estate can benefit in some way.”