Our investments in agriculture and forestry benefit from a wide range of additional utilization and development opportunities that secure the value of the land in the long term and open up new earnings potential. Whether through the development of Building land, the facility near-natural forest cemeteries or the generation of CO₂ certificates - Each option strengthens the economic basis of the property and at the same time supports sustainable development goals.
Renewable energies also open up valuable opportunities: Photovoltaics, Wind power and Large battery storage turn the areas into active building blocks of the energy transition and ensure stable, predictable income. In addition Biogas plants and the remuneration of Closure of ecologically valuable areas further opportunities to combine ecological responsibility with economic benefit.
Even Raw materials, responsibly, contribute to diversification and value enhancement.
All of these elements together create a robust foundation for long-term value creation. They make agricultural and forestry land not only an ecologically relevant, but also an economically attractive investment.
When investing in forestry and agriculture, it can be very lucrative if the land can later be converted into building land. The reason: agricultural land is generally traded at significantly lower prices than developed building land. If it is rezoned due to municipal planning, infrastructure projects or growing settlement pressure, the value often increases many times over. This means that a plot of land originally used purely for agriculture or forestry can suddenly generate considerable added value - far in excess of the current income from timber sales or agricultural use. This leverage makes resale as building land a potentially very profitable option.
When investing in forestry, it can be worthwhile to lease part of the land as a forest cemetery. Burial forests allow urns to be buried under trees in a natural setting and remain largely untouched. For the investor, this creates a stable long-term source of income that is independent of fluctuations in the price of wood. At the same time, the forest is preserved, continues to fulfill its ecological functions and benefits from a growing demand for alternative forms of burial. In this way, the traditional forestry business is supplemented by a sustainable and economically attractive use.
Forests bind CO₂ and generate tradable emission certificates, which offer an additional source of income alongside traditional timber yields. Investments in forestry allow investors to actively participate in the growing market for CO₂ trading systems, both regulated and voluntary. This creates a diversified and inflation-protected return profile that is characterized by long-term stability. At the same time, forestry projects meet high ESG standards, improve the sustainability ratio of portfolios and benefit from political support and increasing demand for credible carbon offsetting. In this way, investors combine ecological impact with economic potential and make a direct contribution to global climate goals.
Generating electricity using photovoltaics is not only possible on buildings, but also on open spaces on a large scale. The construction of PV can reduce CO₂ emissions during electricity production. At the same time, this technology offers an excellent opportunity to generate electricity cost-effectively and sustainably thanks to its reliability, the long service life of the PV modules and the low maintenance requirements. Compared to other technologies, the electricity generation costs of PV are the lowest. We promote the implementation of photovoltaic projects on the land entrusted to us and have thus built up an excellent network.
The generation of energy from renewable sources is a key instrument for achieving the 2-degree target of the Paris Climate Agreement. There is a particular focus on wind power. This is being promoted worldwide and particularly in the EU. Salm Global Land has already implemented wind power on many of its own sites and those of its customers, thus building up a powerful network in this area. We check every new site for the potential and possibilities for the construction of wind turbines and coordinate the project development.
Large-scale battery storage systems can make an important contribution to the energy transition. They enable the temporary storage of surplus electricity, for example from photovoltaic or wind power plants, and make it available again when required. This balances out grid fluctuations, absorbs peak loads and increases security of supply. These storage solutions are installed locally and help to reduce dependence on fossil fuels and centralized infrastructures. They also open up new business models such as participation in the balancing energy market, self-consumption optimization or grid services in the neighbourhood. We examine the possibility and added value of such storage solutions for each of our customers' sites, whether as a stand-alone system or in combination with other renewable technologies.
A decentralized energy supply will become increasingly important in the future. Biogas plants can make a major contribution to this. They are operated at a local level and thus reduce dependence on fossil fuels and centralized power grids. With this technology, organic waste, liquid manure, residual materials or energy crops such as maize are fermented to produce biogas. Biogas is processed into biomethane before being fed into the gas grid. This is comparable to natural gas and can therefore be used directly to produce electricity and heat. We examine the possibility and added value of such plants for each of our customers' sites.
Investors in agricultural and forestry land can also benefit from the targeted set-aside of areas, the establishment of so-called conservation easements. This involves permanently restricting certain uses in order to ensure nature and landscape conservation. For owners, this often results in tax advantages, subsidies or compensation payments, while the long-term ecological quality and attractiveness of the land increases. At the same time, the property remains a valuable asset, but can be managed more cost-efficiently. These measures create an additional predictable income stream.
Investors who invest in agricultural and forestry land not only benefit from the long-term increase in the value of the land and the ongoing income from agriculture or forestry. Such land often also contains natural resources such as gravel, sand or other mineral deposits that can be extracted and marketed. This additional source of income opens up new revenue streams that are independent of the traditional market cycles of agriculture and forestry. This makes the investment more robust and resilient in the long term.