Ground Lease
Gridlync land and infrastructure glossary.
A ground lease is a long-term lease of land on which the tenant may build and operate improvements. Terms often run decades, with rent escalators, and ownership of the land remains with the lessor throughout. Because the tenant owns the buildings or equipment but not the land, ground leases commonly run 30 to 99 years so the tenant can recover its investment, and at expiration the improvements typically revert to the landowner. Rent is often paid annually with periodic escalators.
Solar, data center, and telecom projects often sit on ground leases. Gridlync tracks the rent, escalators, and renewal options across an entire portfolio of ground leases.
Example
Helios Solar leases 300 acres from the Becker family ranch under a 30-year ground lease at $900 per acre per year with a 2 percent annual escalator. Helios owns the panels and inverters for the term, and the land returns to the Beckers when the lease ends.