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REAL ESTATE Twisting in the wind Faulty or substandard lease agreements, repurposed from oil and gas explorations but now used for putting windmills on farmland, can cause problems for both landlords and tenants. BY K EVIN MARRON T he forests of wind turbines that rise above many an acre of ele- vated, underutilized agricultural land seem like a win-win solution for all — a welcome new revenue source for farmers and energy companies, as well as a step towards a cleaner planet. But the whirling windmills may some- times cause headaches, especially for real estate lawyers called upon to clean up faulty lease agreements that have left landlords and tenants alike twisting in the wind. "It creates stress," says Ron Vermeulen, president of LandSolutions Inc., a Calgary-based company that acquires land on behalf of energy com- panies, traditionally for oil and gas pro- jects, but now for an increasing number of alternative energy developments. The stress that Vermeulen refers to is shared by Greg Liakopoulos, a partner with the Calgary office of McCarthy Tétrault LLP, who is often asked by the land agent to fix up or redraft substan- dard options or lease agreements farm- ers have signed with other service pro- viders without the benefit of adequate legal advice. "It's a tough situation," says Liakopoulos, explaining how farmers will sometimes be talked into sign- ing very simple agreements with land agents or speculators, whose goal is www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com NO VEMBER / DECEMBER 2010 23 JUAN CARLOS SOLON