How to Price a Powered Land Site

By Batu Yetki, founder of Voltane.

Start with two separate values

It helps to split the price into two parts:

The land. What the tract is worth for its ordinary use. County appraisal records give a public starting point. Appraised value is not market value.
The power premium. What a buyer will pay above that because the site has a path to a large power supply.

Most of the debate is about the second part.

Certainty of power

The premium rises as the power claim moves from hope to contract. A site with a signed interconnection agreement is worth more than one with a study in progress, which is worth more than one with only a line nearby. Ask what documents exist. See the glossary entry on powered land for the stages.

Time to power

Power sooner is worth more than power later. A buyer weighs the expected energization date and how wide the range around it is. A tight, well-supported range is worth more than an early date nobody will stand behind.

Voltane shows time to power as a range from the history of similar projects, and says plainly that it is generation queue history and not a utility commitment. See how Voltane estimates time to power.

Scale and shape

How many megawatts the site can reach, and in what phases.
Whether the land can hold the buildings, substation and any on-site generation that load needs.
Whether there is room to grow.

Costs still to come

A buyer subtracts what is left to pay. That can include:

Study fees and security for the interconnection request. In Texas, the SB 6 calculator sizes these under the adopted rule.
Grid upgrade costs allocated to the project after the study.
The cost of building the connection from the site to the grid.
Site work, such as grading, drainage and access.

Energy cost and fuel

Where power is cheaper to buy, a site is worth more to the user. In ERCOT, day-ahead market prices for the site's load zone give a public signal. If on-site generation is planned, distance to gas pipelines matters too, with the caveat that a mapped pipeline is not a supply contract.

Risk discounts, and how Voltane lays it out

Flood exposure, wetlands, title problems, local opposition and unknowns all reduce what a careful buyer will pay. Unknowns should be priced as unknowns, not as zero risk. True comparable sales are also hard to find, because terms are often private and no two power positions are alike.

Voltane's Site Price Sheet puts one Texas site on one page, with facts and estimates kept apart: a source and a date on every fact, and a range and a method on every estimate. A Find me a site engagement returns a priced shortlist built the same way. It is an input to your own valuation, not an appraisal.

Questions people ask

What adds the most value to a powered land site?

Certainty. A documented commitment to megawatts and a date is usually worth more than any other single feature.

Is there a standard price per megawatt for powered land?

This guide gives none. Prices depend on certainty, timing, scale and remaining costs, and deal terms are often private. Be careful with any single figure quoted without its basis.

Is a Voltane price view an appraisal?

No. It separates sourced facts from labelled estimates to support your own judgment. It is not an appraisal or investment advice.

More guides

Need a site, or have one?

Tell us what you need and Voltane finds, reports on and prices candidate sites in ERCOT. Or bring a site you already have for a path-to-power report (by request for now).

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How to price a powered land site