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Wind Opportunities

 

There are many opportunities in the wind industry for landowners and communities interested in clean energy and economic development:

 

    * Wind Energy Project Types

    * Economic Development: The rural benefits of wind power.

    * Wind Energy Markets

    * Hosting Wind Projects:

 

          * Wind Energy Easements: Legal Issues

          * What does a farmer need to know about wind energy?

 

 

Rural Economic Development

 

The Local Benefits of Wind Power       

 

Wind energy development can benefit local communities economically in many ways. Wind can diversify agriculture-based economies, create local jobs, keep energy dollars local, broaden the tax base, and provide new business and investment opportunities for farmers. Below is a list of publications, case studies, fact sheets, and websites that include more information about the economic development potential and reality of wind power.

 

Rural Economic Development

 

    * Wind and Economic Development- Wind Powering America

   

    * The Facts on Wind: A proven economic development tool for Minnesota- The Minnesota Project, Windustry, and the Southwest Regional Development Commission, March 2003

   

    * Renewable Energy: Long term benefits for Minnesota's Ecnonomy- The Minnesota Project, Windustry, and the Southwest Regional Development Commission, March 2003

 

Economic Diversity

 

    * Economic Impact Analysis of Windpower Development in Southwest Minnesota, September 1996. Contact: Southwest Regional Development Commission, 2524 Broadway Avenue Slayton, MN 56172. Tel (507) 836-8547

 

    * Perspectives on an NWCC/NREL Assessment of Distributed Wind

 

    * Renewable Energy in Indian Country: Options for Tribal Governments, Renewable Energy Policy Project - Issue Brief No. 10, June 1998. * How Tribal Governments can use renewable energy to meet the needs of rural electrification, economic development, environmental protection, and an expression of a commitment to balance the human and natural worlds. See http://www.repp.org   - Search the Issue Briefs

 

Jobs

 

    * Job Jolt, and economic study by the Regional Economics Applications Laboratory for the Environmental Law and Policy Center, published November 2002. This report shows that the Midwest stands to gain significant jobs and income by switching to renewable energy and increasing energy efficiency. The report shows a real boost for the Midwest: up to 210,000 new jobs and $20 billion in additional economic output across the 10-state Midwest region by the year 2020. Download the report here.

   

    * Job Jolt fact sheets for individual Midwestern states are available at http://www.repowermidwest.org.

   

 

Broadens the tax base

 

    * Tax Treatment of Wind Energy and Minnesota's Production based tax system, Windustry

   

    * Taxing Wind Energy in Minnesota, John Bailey and David Morris, January 1995, Institute for Local Self-Reliance. See http://www.me3.org/issues/wind/tax

 

Keeps energy dollars local

 

    For Further Reference:

 

 

        * Wind Clusters: Expanding the Market Appeal of Wind Energy Systems, Renewable Energy Policy Project - Issue Brief No. 4, November 1996. * Wind clusters, one to five turbines, involve communities in their own energy development, boost local economies, and create relatively little strain on transmission and distribution systems. See http://www.repp.org     -Search the Issue Briefs