Benefits of Wind Power

The following are some key economic and environmental benefits of producing electricity from wind farms:

• Regular royalty payments to local landowners who lease their land for turbines (thousands of dollars per turbine annually), helping farmers keep farming
• Increased property tax revenues for local municipalities, paid by the owner of the wind turbines (thousands of dollars per turbine annually)
• Creation of direct and indirect, full- and part-time jobs during construction (over one job per megawatt installed), and during ongoing operations
• Local spending on goods and services by the developer during construction and ongoing operations and maintenance
• Safe, infinitely renewable energy, enough to power hundreds of homes per megawatt installed
• Increased tourism opportunities when wind farms are promoted as attractions
• Reliable and cost-competitive energy production: with free fuel, lower cost per kilowatt in the long term, especially when one accounts for the environmental damage and health care costs of other sources of power
• Comparatively minor adverse environmental effects: no air or water pollution, no hazardous waste, no greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change