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This page provides software applications to help individuals, developers, local governments, and utilities make decisions about wind power. The page also provides links to publications and articles about economic development impacts that accrue from wind projects.
Projecting costs and benefits of new installations, including the economic development impacts created, is a key element in looking at potential wind applications. Communities, states, regions, jobs (i.e., construction, operations and maintenance), the tax base, tax revenues, and others can be positively affected. These benefits are in addition to the impacts for the owner or developer.
Cascade County, Montana, Commissioner Peggy Beltrone, initiated an aggressive, first-of-its-kind wind power marketing program in 2002 to attract wind power development. It was part of a plan to reverse a declining tax base and expand economic opportunities. Today, Cascade County welcomes developers with rich resources to easily prospect ideal locations for wind development. Digital wind maps bring together into one package all the essential wind data as a free service to wind developers. It is the centerpiece of the wind marketing program. The county also connects developers to business relationships, by introducing them to landowners, contractors, land agents, and permitting officials.
The Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) model is a user-friendly tool that calculates economic impacts from wind projects. It allows you to easily identify the local economic impacts associated with constructing and operating wind power plants. JEDI is for wind developers, renewable energy advocates, government officials, decision makers, and other potential users who might not have the resources to develop
their own economic development model. It is designed to accommodate a broad user base with varying experience with economic development modeling. It accommodates inexperienced spreadsheet users, those unfamiliar with economic impact analysis, and more experienced and knowledgeable users who need this type of analysis.
Small Wind Economic Model
The Small Wind Economic Model is a spreadsheet tool that can help you analyze the economics of a small wind electric system and decide whether wind energy will work for you (MS Excel 102 KB).
Wind Energy Finance (WEF) provides quick, detailed economic evaluation of potential utility-scale wind energy projects. The tool is designed for those who have general experience with project financial analysis but little knowledge of wind projects. Potential users include: state and local economic development officials, rural landowners interested in owning or benefitting from wind energy projects, applicants pursuing 2002 Farm Bill funding for renewable energy projects under Section 9006 and the Value-Added Producer Grant Program, and rural co-op and municipal utility officials. Wind Energy Finance Brochure (PDF 2 MB)
Wind Powering America compiled studies about the economic impact of wind farms in rural communities in order to compared them side by side. These case studies provide insight of what kind of information is generally gathered in undertaking an economic impact study, what kind of information is most helpful in using these studies to further promote wind energy development in rural communities, as well as the limitations on collecting data for these studies.
Lists publications, news, and Web sites with information about wind economic development.
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