Perceptions of farmers being opposed to renewable energy are false, but they do want more from developers, a farming group says.
"The evidence is in and it is absolutely clear ... it's a quiet majority supporting renewables done right," Farmers for Climate Action chief executive Natalie Collard said in Canberra on Tuesday.
The latest polling found 70 per cent support clean energy projects on farmland in their local areas and 17 per cent were opposed.
That support comes with conditions, including proper consultation and better access to reliable energy.
Voters in regional Australia also want energy bill subsidies from clean energy projects located near them and developers held to account for the long-term impact of projects built on agricultural land.
However, less than a third (30 per cent) of residents in renewable energy zones knew that farmers already made very good money from clean energy rent.
Farmers are being offered more than $40,000 per turbine per year and $1500 per hectare per year for solar, while they continue to farm cattle around the turbines and sheep under the solar.
Dismissing federal parliament's anti-renewable activists, Ms Collard said most renewable energy projects were hosted in conservative electorates by willing farmers and were fully approved to do so.
"What we hear more often is a vocal minority and at Farmers for Climate Action we're listening to farmers not Facebook," she said.
Three-quarters of those surveyed said renewable energy operators should pay a power bill bonus to local households and businesses, according to the polling commissioned by the grassroots organisation on behalf of its 8400 farmer members.
Some existing "neighbour benefit schemes" include reduced electricity bills for nearby homes via rooftop solar installations, bill subsidies or energy efficiency upgrades.
The Pines Wind Farm, near Oberon in NSW, is one project offering electricity bill credits to more than 2000 households in the Triangle Flat, Bald Ridge, Abercrombie River and the Oberon local government area.
The survey found farmers tended to distrust developers and called for strong regulations from governments on decommissioning.
"It's developers that are responsible for community consultation and the regulatory framework needs to improve because it's very limited," Ms Collard said.
"Those polled clearly ask for the government to take charge on decommissioning, even though the vast majority of clean energy contracts already require the operator to decommission the project," Ms Collard said.
"This means decommissioning would be covered by insurance should a company go broke."
Earning rent from leasing land for clean energy generation was viewed as a good way to get another income stream to "drought-proof" the property.
Other possible benefits included more reliable energy for the local community and investment in the local economy, while key concerns included any disruption of farming activities and the impact on nature.
Some 1001 people living in renewable energy zones were polled in September/October by consultancy 89 Degrees East.
