PALM SPRINGS, CA—Chem Quest Inc. has purchased a 93-acre land parcel occupied by Windpower Partners, a wind farm, to Palm Investment Group LLC, GlobeSt.com reports exclusively. Windpower Partners operates the land under a 34-year easement, and will continue to operate the wind farm on the land under the new ownership.

The former owners disposed of the property after the death of the major stakeholder. “This property, because it houses an operating wind farm, offers very high returns on a long-term investment in the alternative energy field, which is continuing to expand,” John Battle, a principal and managing director at Lee & Associates-LA North/Ventura, tells GlobeSt.com. Battle represented both the buyer and the seller in the transaction, along with associate Matt Benwitt and SVP of Lee & Associates-Palm Desert, Brian Ward.

The high returns helped to generate significant interest in the sale, resulting in eight offers from prospective buyers across the country, half of which were companies that buy and sell wind and solar farms, rather than real estate investors. “We began our marketing with a mass marketing campaign along with outreach to local investors, and we also engaged our Palm Springs office and their local contacts,” says Battle. “We didn't have to do much to reach out to the wind farm community specifically because they found us very quickly.”

Because a wind farm sits on this land site, Battle explains that it is a very different type of transaction and isn't indicative of the Palm Springs commercial real estate market, which has seen steady improvement over the past few years. “Because this is a wind farm operating under a 34-year easement, it falls more closely into the net leased investment sector, which is an extremely active investment sector with a national, rather than a local orientation,” says Battle.