Hey Vertical,
greenhouse, i get confused 
i am guessing polyhouse. i honestly get confused between greenhouse and polyhouse, anyways.
30 km is far, but close at the same time. water and electricity as you have mentioned is available, so thats out of the scene.
just check on local service/shops for agri related products (fertilizers/pesticides/spareparts etc) also check for local labor availibility. cause there are times when you might need additional labor, in addition to the fixed labor you might/might not plan to have at the setup for 24 hrs.
decent road connectivity is also helpful.
ok thats general. about the cost part. let me share my breakdown, so we can take that as an example to understand and discuss more.
these are for my 4350 sq mtr polyhouse
Fixed expenses / month
- Labor - Rs 15,000
- Fertilizers & Pesticides - Rs 15,000
- Electricity - Rs 630
- Depreciation - Rs 6,250
- Bank Intrest - Rs 92,000
- Surplus - Rs 14,000
Variable expenses
- Additional Labor - Rs 5,000
these are the average rough costs. so a total of about 1.5 lakh are my monthly expenses. (depreciation, interest, surplus wouldn’t be applicable in your case) so about Rs 45,000 would be the monthly expenses x 12 months = 5,40,000
now about the production part (assuming figures on the lowest side)
plants in 1 acre (4000 sq mtr) = 12500
production / sq mtr = 6 kg
price / kg = Rs 30
total returns = Rs 30 x 24,000 kg = 7,20,000
then there would be packing cost, transportation cost, some spare parts, material for support system, initial bed preparation/basal dose etc, which are important, but minor.
so on and on, there is a net profit of Rs 2,00,000.
i have considered the costs on the higher side, and production on the lowest side. if things are done properly, and the market is decent, the figures look more catchy.
so a simple breakdown can help me prepare and plan, be ready for tomorrow.
there are many small costs which come in the picture only when the process starts, but those are minor, and you can consider them as per your conditions.
about the ideal cost for rent, it depends on your friend. what is his goal, how much can he afford.
if hes willing to be patient or if its a short term return plan, the final discussion has to be made by the management (your friend)
i have shared the costs, so you get an idea about the expenses involved. list them all down. break them into various heads, and work out some production figures. so u’ll be in a better position to decide how much can you afford on rent.
if your friend is comfortable to work on lower margins, then he can afford more on rent.
i hope your getting my point.
i am not happy with my returns cause firstly, i am greedy 
no really, if things earlier for me would have been like they are now, i wouldnt have had such a huge backlog on my bank loan and running expenses. but had all that been cleared, i am very happy with the returns i am getting. no matter what the market price for my produce is.
there are people who invest and expect to start making profits from first year. nothings wrong. at times it does happen. but then at times it doesnt.
say if your produce is all good and best quality, but the market is low. there isint anything one can do. so the only way is to be patient and look at it in a long term investment.
i hope i could help. Vertical, these all are my opinions. as i earn my bread and butter from this project. and i am very particular about where the money is coming from, and where it is going.
its a business, and it should be treated as one.
Vivek
an acre ??
