Date: 9/29/2015

Source: M. Clements, National Association of Farm Broadcasters

Audio with Alice Orrell of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (MP3 1.2 MB). Download Windows Media Player. Time: 00:01:44.

Community distributed wind projects offer investment and returns back to the local community of a wind farm. Alice Orrell of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory explains what community wind and distributed wind mean.

"So a community wind project is one in which community members have some ownership of the project. They are investors in the project and therefore directly benefit from the sale of the energy. Distributed wind systems produce electricity that is consumed on site or that is consumed locally via a distribution grid."

Orrell provides an example located in New Mexico.

"We documented the installation of two distributed wind projects in New Mexico in 2014. Both of these projects served the Western Farmers' Electric Cooperative. And one of the projects is also a community wind project because multiple landowners have invested in the project and participated in the development process and now the profits."

She explains the benefits of community wind and distributed wind projects.

"Community wind goes beyond just getting a lease payment to lease your land for the wind turbines or tax revenue for the county. You get more of an ownership stake both in the direction of the project, how is it going to be developed, and also the payments from selling the energy. You get more say in the whole project rather than just having the turbines in your area."

To learn more about community wind, head online to the non-profit Windustry at Windustry.org or the Distributed Wind Energy Association online at DistributedWind.org.