Wind power adds jobs and prosperity increases in rural communities

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The first study, detailed econometric methods use effects of wind makes installations in a 12-state region between 2000 economic development and a positive net increase in annual shows 2008 measuring independent personal income and jobs.

"For every megawatt additional wind in County A, one would expect a $11.150 increase of income", said Ryan wiser, scientist and Deputy group leader in the electricity markets and the policy group at LBL. Along with the increase in income, there was also a average 0.48 increase in net jobs and wiser added that net job action is useful only if most are greater than 1 MW wind farm.

"There is no doubt that affected communities, especially rural communities from these projects," said wiser. "We are not prepared to say whether [] are essential or non-essential, but some counties development significantly positively affected by wind are."

By the USDA Economic Research service, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBL) and the national renewable energy laboratory study focused on 1,009 counties in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, North and South Dakota, Iowa and Minnesota.

The region was chosen because it has the highest concentration of the best land-based wind resources in the United States, as also the highest degree of wind makes development with the exception of California, Oregon and Washington [see map]. It was also selected to "Highlight a contiguous area of the country with relatively homogenous characteristics."

Until now, wiser said: studies on the economic impacts of the wind makes development uses "input-output analysis", the the effects of a change, such as a wind farm in the economy creates forecast a model of the local economy. "Modeling is great, but we wanted to determine whether there was an observable effects of wind development on these counties in the past, the in-place perspective" he said.

The $11.150-pro-MW-boost in personal income independent and 0.48 per MW net employment arise an average 0.22% increase in personal income and 0.4% job growth from 2000 to 2008.

Wiser explains that the actual percentage according to the level of employment and income in one of 1,009 respondents counties varies the effect. He said "Because counties with a higher population and income, the effects of the wind only a fraction of the total be".

Sage said that the numbers are "a bit misleading low.", because we only wind development in the past, and it's already much developed since 2008 was in addition he said the study group people a change in a wind sector job as a positive gain in employment, only as an increase of in income are not if it contain one. The study group chose use personal income instead of earned income account for things like royalties to a landowner for wind turbine installation, wiser said.

Such an investigation was not possible so far, wiser said. "It requires enough wind development in the past to follow, that are available." "If [USDA] come to me 4 years ago, I would have said that it determine econometric impact insufficient development."

The study "the effects of wind development on county-level income and employment: A review of methods and an empirical analysis" energy economics can be purchased via the website of the magazine. The study is summarized in a fact sheet from the U.S. Department of energy (DOE).