Case Study
How Demeter Land Development de-risks origination and triples success with Paces
Scott Aaronson, Founder of Demeter Land Development
Background:
Scott Aaronson is the founder of Demeter Land Development, a site origination and early-stage development firm that partners with landowners, renewable energy developers, and enterprise and hyperscale clients to deliver strategic, infrastructure-ready sites.
Unique approach:
Demeter’s specialized team of lawyers, brokers, and certified land agents is united by a single mission: to secure the most strategic, de-risked land positions for renewable energy, data center, and energy storage developers.
The Challenge
Early-stage land development is unforgiving: a single mistake in site origination can multiply into costly setbacks or kill a project entirely. Scott Aaronson knew this firsthand when he founded Demeter Land Development in 2017.
When Scott first started in solar development, his early process was painstakingly manual: driving across Illinois to trace three-phase lines and calling utilities to confirm substation data. Expanding Demeter into new states and markets required something more: reliable, high-quality data that could keep pace with his ambitions. Like many firms focused on the early stages of development, the challenges were clear:
- Data quality: Securing high-quality, reliable environmental, permitting, and power data to avoid chasing non-viable sites that lead to costly mistakes down the line.
- Early-stage risk multiplication: Preventing small errors in origination from compounding into costly setbacks or failed projects later in the development cycle.
- Market expansion challenges: Entering new markets and development types like battery and energy storage systems (BESS) and data centers, while navigating unique requirements that demand specialized expertise.
The Solution
Paces’ platform and team provide Demeter with the tools and insights they need to overcome these challenges:
- Best-in-class data: Up-to-date information on permitting, zoning, and interconnection ensures the team can confidently pursue the sites they are targeting.
- De-risking upfront: De-risking occurs earlier in the process, preventing fatal flaws and costly mistakes.
- Expansion into new markets: With Paces’ platform and support, Demeter confidently pivots into new markets, like BESS and data centers, while strengthening its solar pipeline.
"Every mistake you make in the beginning process of a project costs 10x down the line or could kill a project. Paces provides the data that eliminates a lot of those mistakes."
The impact of Paces on Demeter’s workflow and success is clear:
3x Success rate
Before Paces, Demeter closed 1 in 10 interested landowners. With Paces, they close 1 in 3 — a 233% increase in success.
Cost efficiency
By identifying fatal flaws upfront, Demeter saves five- and six-figure sums that would otherwise be lost on non-viable projects.
Strategic growth
With Paces’ expertise, Demeter can react quickly to policy and market changes, building a more resilient business.
“I truly don't think that we’d be able to close as many deals without Paces and their support.”
A deeper look:
Scott’s story with Paces
When Scott Aaronson founded Demeter Land Development in 2017, he brought an unconventional background to renewable energy development. Trained as an attorney licensed in Michigan and Illinois, Scott transitioned into the renewable industry after helping a friend secure land for solar projects. His earliest origination work was hands-on: “I started by driving around in a car, following three-phase lines back to substations, and calling utilities to confirm utility service territories, substation ownership, etc.”
As Demeter grew, Scott sought ways to scale beyond the manual process. The team tried different approaches, even hiring people to scan Google Street View for power lines and build massive lead lists. “It could take months to complete lead lists,” Scott remembers. While some software vendors promised solutions, their data often fell short with mislabeled line types, incomplete information, and little flexibility for Demeter’s needs. Scott describes this phase as “Demeter 1.0”, a period marked by incomplete datasets, clunky workflows, and the risk of pouring months of effort into non-viable sites. What he needed was accurate, actionable data and a partner who understood the nuances of early-stage development. That’s when Demeter turned to Paces.
With Paces, Demeter can now centralize permitting, interconnection, and environmental data in one place. High-quality datasets, paired with the strategic expertise from the Paces team, enable Scott’s team to catch fatal flaws upfront and focus only on viable sites.
The shift has been transformative. Before Paces, Demeter relied on vendors and manual processes that produced incomplete or unreliable data, often requiring extra work to validate results. With Paces, Demeter now has access to accurate, centralized data and expert support all in one platform. This allows Scott’s team to generate targeted lead lists in days, expand confidently into new states, and pursue emerging opportunities in BESS and data centers. “There’s not a company I know of that does a better job at having high-quality data than Paces,” he says.
As Demeter continues to evolve and enter into the BESS and data centers markets, Paces has become a core part of its strategy. By reducing early-stage risk and providing strategic expertise, Paces empowers Demeter to focus on what matters most: securing the best land positions and delivering successful projects in an increasingly complex renewable energy landscape. “Paces by far has been the most successful for us, has the best data, and allows us to eliminate work that leads to projects not being built and eliminate work that leads to costly mistakes down the development pipeline.”