One of the fundamental elements of wind energy projects is having secure property agreements and well-managed land access. Without land, there is no project.
As Australia accelerates the deployment of large-scale wind projects to support the energy transition, the number and complexity of landholder agreements continue to increase. Behind every turbine sits a network of agreements with landholders that define access rights, payments, obligations, and timelines. When these agreements are poorly tracked or scattered across spreadsheets, emails and individual computers, operational risk can escalate quickly.
Missed expiry or payment dates, unclear access conditions, or incomplete records of conversations with landholders are some of the risks that can delay field activities, create legal exposure and damage relationships with the stakeholders who make projects possible.
For renewable energy developers managing dozens or even hundreds of land agreements across multiple projects, structured agreement management is not just an administrative task. It is a core risk-management function.
This article was developed in collaboration with Cheryl Archer, Manager of Stakeholder Support at Windlab, Australia’s clean energy pioneer. Drawing on her experience working with landholders across wind energy projects, Cheryl shares insights on how renewable developers can manage land agreements more effectively while reducing operational risk.
The operational challenge: managing land agreements at scale
As projects expand, so does the complexity of landholder relationships.
In Australia, wind farms are frequently developed across large agricultural regions where a single project may involve dozens of landholders and multiple types of agreements across neighbouring properties.
Teams must track:
- different types of land agreements
- payment schedules and commercial terms
- expiry dates and renewal requirements
- property access conditions
- communication history with landholders
- documents and signed agreements
When information is spread across spreadsheets, inboxes, and shared drives, teams can spend significant time searching for information or verifying whether records are accurate.
As Cheryl explains:
“Meeting our commitments within the timeframes set out in agreements is fundamental for trust and delivery. When timeframes are missed, project schedules can be delayed and, in some cases, parties may revisit their arrangements. Our focus is to avoid that by staying organised, transparent and on time.”
For Windlab, improving visibility over agreements and financial commitments is a priority. By centralising landholder agreement data, teams can quickly understand the status of active agreements, payments, compliance requirements and negotiation progress.
Cheryl notes the operational impact:
“Using a centralised system gives us the ability to report on all active agreements and track agreements under negotiation. It also provides confidence in the accuracy of our data, ensuring all payments are made in line with the terms of each agreement.”
“As a result, we have halved landholder payment processing time and can now provide our Accounts team with a clear, easy to read fortnightly report with the ability to easily view and report on all payments made.”
Why spreadsheets and email chains create risk
Many organisations begin by tracking land agreements in spreadsheets.
This approach works for a handful of agreements. As projects scale, however, it becomes difficult to maintain reliable oversight.
Common problems include:
- duplicate or outdated files circulating between teams
- critical information stored in individual inboxes
- uncertainty about which version of an agreement is current
- manual reporting processes that take hours or days
- transfer of information increases the risk of error
Without a single source of truth, teams can struggle to answer basic operational questions:
- Which agreements are expiring soon?
- What commitments have been made to a stakeholder?
- When are upcoming payments due, and if Consumer Price Index or Goods and Services Tax adjustment is relevant?
- Which payments have been made, and which remain outstanding?
For large infrastructure projects, centralising land and stakeholder data is critical for managing compliance, coordinating field work and maintaining accurate records. This is the approach Windlab is taking by integrating Borealis’ Land Management and Stakeholder Engagement modules.
As Cheryl explains:
“Integrating the Land Management and Stakeholder Engagement modules allows key communications to be linked directly to agreements, making it easy to understand past decisions and negotiation history. It also provides clear visibility of landholders and existing agreements when searching stakeholder records.”
A structured approach to land agreement management
To reduce these risks, many renewable energy developers, including Windlab, are centralising landholder information, agreements and communications to create a single point of truth.
By structuring land data in a single system, teams can:
- maintain a clear overview of all land and other agreements, including neighbour agreements, Indigenous Land Use Agreements and Cultural Heritage Management Agreements
- track expiry dates, payment terms and obligations
- link agreements to the relevant stakeholders and properties
- maintain a record of conversations and commitments
- generate reports quickly for internal management or regulatory requirements
The most important benefit is that everyone works from the same, reliable information. Instead of relying on individual files or unverified spreadsheets, project teams can access the data they need to manage stakeholder relationships responsibly and efficiently. This aligns with Windlab’s science-led and practical approach to development, which is grounded in collaboration with landholders, Traditional Owners and host communities to create lasting, shared benefit.
Managing landholder risk with the borealis land agreements module
Before rolling out Borealis, Windlab’s goal was to reduce the risks associated with managing landholder agreements and to ensure commitments to landholders were recorded and complied with. At the time, information was spread across Excel spreadsheets and individual email inboxes. Moving to one centralised system has delivered clearer visibility and better control.
Today, Borealis serves as Windlab’s single source of truth for landholder agreements. It provides visibility on upcoming expiry dates, payment schedules and key conditions that must be managed. The platform also supports the management of Traditional Owner agreements. This helps ensure commitments are tracked and upheld consistently and transparently.
According to Cheryl Archer:
“While the Land team manages the agreements, everyone has visibility where they need it. Development Managers can easily see current and upcoming agreements, along with the information they need for budgeting and reporting. Scheduled reporting helps keep these key internal stakeholders informed.”
Maintaining accurate, shared information across large and geographically dispersed project teams remains a challenge. Centralised systems can help reduce that burden and support responsible project delivery.
Land agreements are more than contracts
Land agreements are not simply legal documents. They represent long-term relationships with landholders who play a critical role in project success.
Careful management of those agreements helps ensure that:
- commitments are respected
- communication with landholders remains consistent
- trust and long-term relationships with landholders are maintained
- project risks are identified and addressed early
When agreement data is structured and accessible, organisations can manage these relationships more effectively while maintaining operational control over complex projects. Developers, like Windlab, that treat land agreement management as a strategic capability rather than an administrative task will be better positioned to reduce risk, maintain trust with landholders and other stakeholders, and keep projects moving forward with their social licence intact.
About Cheryl Archer:
Cheryl Archer is Manager, Stakeholder Support at Windlab, based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia . She focuses on land commitments, stakeholder engagement, reporting and process improvement for renewable energy projects across the country. With a practical, relationship-driven approach, Cheryl helps project teams use tools like Borealis to strengthen stakeholder engagement and support responsible project delivery.
