fuel prices.
Job Creation:
Wind power projects create high-quality jobs which increase business and household income, which in turn creates more jobs which further increase business and household income, and so on. Typically It creates about one to two jobs per turbine during construction, and about 6 to 20 permanent jobs for operating and maintaining every 100 megawatts (MW) of installed generating capacity. Tourism and retail economies benefit from wind power as well, both from construction workers (who spend their dollars on housing, restaurants, and local goods) and from out-of-town visitors to wind facilities.
Property Revenues:
Wind power developments can be a source of supplemental revenue for landowners in rural areas. Each megawatt (MW) of turbine capacity generally requires 25 to 50 acres, and the landowner usually loses the use of about two to four percent of these acres, including access roads. Payments to landowners are often a percentage of the gross revenues of the wind project, usually between one and three percent. A typical annual royalty payment to landowners ranges from $1,500 to $2,000 per turbine (approximately $40 to $50 per acre), with the landowner still able to farm or allow grazing on all areas surrounding the turbines. In addition, there is sometimes an upfront payment of $1,000 to $3,000 from the developer to the landowner for the assessment of the property for wind resource potential (Brown and Woelfel 2000). In the U.S. national study to date, sales data from 25,000 properties within five miles of wind turbines, compared with similar properties without views of wind turbines, showed no evidence of wind power reducing property values.
There are also some economic and environmental negative impacts which are out of scope of this topic, but they can be easily adjusted and remedies can be made.
-
References:
1. http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_en ergy/renewable_energy_basics/W PNE-Overview.html
2. http://www.mge.com/images/PDF/ Brochures/WindPower/BenefitsOf Wind.pdf
3. http://www.catenergy.com/faq.h tml
4. Assessing the Economic Development Impacts of Wind Power, Northwest Economic Associates, 12009 N.E. 99th Street, Suite 1410, Vancouver, WA 98682-2497
Learn more about this author, kamran.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.
Below are the top articles rated and ranked by Helium members on:
by Dona Tracy
Because you are 'Green' doesn't mean you have to love wind farms
Industrial wind farms, like the Cape Wind project, are on
Fortunately we've learned a few things over the past hundred fifty years about our resources, about electric power, economics
The switch over from non-renewable fossil fuels to alternative, renewable sources of energy, such as wind power, is arguably
by kamran
Amid energy concerns all over the world and specially in major industrialized countries, search for and adaptation to alternate
Forget about the economic benefits the environmental benefits are disastrous, the impacts of wind farms is having a detrimental
View All Articles on:
Understanding wind power's economic and environmental benefits
Add your voice
Know something about Understanding wind power's economic and environmental benefits?
We want to hear your view.
Write now!
Featured Partner
The Responsibility Project is the brainchild of Liberty Mutual Insurance. As an insurance company, we like respons...more
hide