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Community wind projects are locally owned by farmers, investors, businesses, schools, utilities, or other public or private entities and they optimize local benefits. The key feature is that local community members have a significant, direct financial stake in the project beyond land lease payments and tax revenue. Projects may be used for on-site power or to generate wholesale power for sale, usually on a commercial-scale greater than 100 kW.

Overview

Financially, community-based wind projects are structured much differently than traditional wind farms. In the traditional model, the company that builds and manages a wind farm retains sole ownership of the development. The owners of the land on which the wind turbines were built usually have no stake in development, and are instead compensated through lease payments or by royalty-based contracts.

The more people that become involved through community wind power, the more democratic the energy supply system becomes. Energy sellers make a profit, landowners receive leasing fees, communities get improved infrastructure, local people get jobs, governments receive taxes, and consumers receive electricity at competitive prices.

Currently, companies following a community model comprise only a small portion of the overall wind energy industry. In comparison to traditional wind companies, community wind businesses tend to develop smaller-scale projects, often less than 50 megawatts (MW).

Background/History

Main article: History of wind power

The First Windmill

Credible evidence determines windmills originated in 644 A.D. in the region of Seistan near the Persian-Afghan border. Arguments can be made that windmills originated earlier in Egypt, but their is no conclusive evidence.

Initial Uses of Windmills

Unlike its modern use to produce energy, windmills were original utilized to mill grain and then in later centuries they were developed by the Chinese to drain rice fields. The first European windmill originated in the Duchy of Normandy and was used as a mill.

Developing Structure

Sketches reveal that the first windmills of the Afghan region were built using stones and wood with a vertical axis. Chinese windmills were also built on with a vertical axis, but with bamboo sticks and fabric sails. Horizontal windmills originated in the Duchy of Normandy were made complete out of wood. Between the 14th and 15th centuries, as the spread of windmills consumed Europe, they were built on towers made of stone with the windwheel resting on top. In the 16th century up to the 19th century, Holland improve the windmill to what is known today as the "Dutch windmill."

Community wind farms

Australia

See also: Wind power in Australia

The Hepburn Wind Project is wind farm proposed wind farm near Daylesford, Victoria, north-west of Melbourne, Victoria. It will include two wind turbines which should produce enough power for 2,300 households.

This will be the first Australian community-owned wind farm. The initiative has emerged because the community felt that the state and federal governments were not doing enough to address climate change.

Canada

See also: WindShare

Community wind power is in its' infancy in Canada but there are reasons for optimism. One such reason is the launch of a new Feed-in Tariff (FIT) program in the Province of Ontario . A number of community wind projects are in development in Ontario but the first project that is likely to obtain a FIT contract and connect to the grid is the Pukwis Community Wind Park. Pukwis will be unique in that it is a joint Aboriginal/Community wind project that will be majority-owned by the Chippewas of Georgina Island First Nation, with a local renewable energy co-operative (the Pukwis Energy Co-operative) owning the remainder of the project.

Denmark

See also: Wind power in Denmark and Middelgrunden

In Denmark, families were offered a tax exemption for generating their own electricity within their own or an adjoining commune. By 2001 over 100,000 families belonged to wind turbine cooperatives, which had installed 86% of all the wind turbines in Denmark, a world leader in wind power. Wind power has gained very high social acceptance in Denmark, with the development of community wind farms playing a major role.

In 1997, Samsø won a government competition to become a model renewable energy community. An offshore wind farm comprising 10 turbines (making a total of 21 altogether including land-based windmills), was completed, funded by the islanders. Now 100% of its electricity comes from wind power and 75% of its heat comes from solar power and biomass energy. An Energy Academy has opened in Ballen, with a visitor education center.

Germany

See also: Wind power in Germany and Paderborn Wind Farm

In Germany, hundreds of thousands of people have invested in citizens' wind farms across the country and thousands of small and medium sized enterprises are running successful businesses in a new sector that in 2008 employed 90,000 people and generated 8 percent of Germany's electricity. Wind power has gained very high social acceptance in Germany, with the development of community wind farms playing a major role.

The Netherlands

See also: Wind power in the Netherlands

Sixty-three farmers in De Zuidlob, the southern part of the municipality of Zeewolde, have entered into a cooperative agreement that aims to develop a wind farm of at least 108 MW. The project will include the installation of three phases of 12 wind turbines with capacities of 3 to 4.5 MW each. The aim is to put the wind farm into service in 2012.

The Netherlands has an active community of wind cooperatives. They build and operate wind parks in all regions of the Netherlands. This started in the 1980s with the first Lagerweij turbines. Back then, these turbines could be financed by the members of the cooperatives. Today, the cooperatives build larger wind parks, but not as large as commercial parties do. Some still operate self-sufficiently, others partner with larger commercial wind park developers.

Because of the very unproductive state policies for financing wind parks in the Netherlands, the cooperatives have developed a new financing model, where members of a cooperative do not have to pay taxes for the electricity they generate with their community wind park. In this construction the Zelfleveringsmodel the cooperative operates the wind park, and a traditional energy company only acts as a service provider, for billing and energy balance on the public grid. This is the new role for energy companies in the future, where production is largely decentralized.

United Kingdom

See also: Wind power in the United Kingdom and Wind power in Scotland

Baywind Energy Co-operative was the first co-operative to own wind turbines in the United Kingdom. Baywind was modeled on the similar wind turbine cooperatives and other renewable energy co-operatives that are common in Scandinavia , and was founded as an Industrial and Provident Society in 1996. It grew to exceed 1,300 members, each with one vote. A proportion of the profits is invested in local community environmental initiatives through the Baywind Energy Conservation Trust. As of 2006, Baywind owns a 2.5 megawatt five-turbine wind farm at Harlock Hill near Ulverston, Cumbria (operational since 29 January 1997), and one of the 600 kilowatt turbines at the Haverigg II wind farm near Millom, Cumbria.

Another community-owned wind farm, Westmill Wind Farm Cooperative, opened in May 2008 in the Oxfordshire village of Watchfield. It consists of five 1.3 megawatt turbines, and is described by its promoters as the UK's largest community-owned wind farm. It was structured as a cooperative, whose shares and loan stock were sold to the local community. Other businesses, such as Midcounties Co-operative, also invested, and the Co-operative Bank provided a loan.

Community-owned schemes in Scotland include a three V27 wind turbine system near the manufacturer Vestas's Scottish base in Kintyre, operated by Gigha Renewable Energy Ltd. which is capable of generating up to 675 kW of power. Gigha residents control the whole project and profits are reinvested in the community.

Findhorn Ecovillage has four Vestas wind turbines which can generate up to 750 kW. These make the community net exporters of renewable-generated electricity. Most of the generation is used on-site with any surplus exported to the National Grid.

Boyndie Wind Farm Co-operative is part of the Energy4All group, which promotes community ownership. A number of other schemes supported by Highlands and Islands Community Energy Company are in the pipeline.

Unity Wind Ltd is an Industrial and Provident Society that intends to install two 2MW wind turbines at North Walsham in North Norfolk. Its key aim is community wind turbines installed and run by community investment and for financial benefit to the community.

United States

See also: Wind power in the United States and Wind power in Texas

National Wind is a large-scale community wind project developer, with thirteen families of projects in development or operation. These projects have an aggregate capacity of over 4,000 MW. The vision of the company is to revitalize rural economies by promoting investment in domestic renewable energy resources. National Wind creates shared ownership with communities and allows them participation in decisions which are made.

In March 2009, National Wind formed Little Rock Wind LLC, its 7th Minnesota-based, community-owned wind energy company. The company will develop up to 150 MW of wind power within Big Stone County, Minnesota, over the next 5 to 7 years.

Goodhue Wind LLC is a community wind development company in Goodhue County, Minnesota. The company intends to develop a 78 MW wind farm, which will supply electricity to Midwestern utilities and ultimately to Midwestern homes and businesses. Goodhue Wind expects the project will be operational between late 2009 and early 2010.

Business models

Community shared ownership

In a community-based model, the developer/manager of a wind farm shares ownership of the project with area landowners and other community members. Property owners whose land was used for the wind farm are generally given a choice between a monthly cash lease and ownership units in the development. While some community wind projects, such as High Country Energy in southern Minnesota, issued public shares after the project’s formation, investment opportunities are usually offered to local citizens before the wind development is officially created.

Cooperative

A wind turbine cooperative, also known as a wind energy cooperative, is a jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise that follows the cooperative model, investing in wind turbines or wind farms. The cooperative model was developed in Denmark. The model has also spread to Germany, the Netherlands and Australia, with isolated examples elsewhere.

Municipal

Some places have enacted policies to encourage development of municipally owned and operated wind turbines on town land. For example, virtual net metering laws in Rhode Island allow towns to take credit for electricity produced and apply it against any of their town electricity accounts. The first two towns to consider taking advantage of this law are Portsmouth and Barrington, although many other towns are now considering this option.

Benefits

Economic

Wind energy provides an array of opportunities for jobs in rural communities. Once a wind farm project is established in a community jobs are needed in manufacturing, transportation, and project construction. After completion jobs will be needed to maintain and operated the facility. According to a study by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, wind energy produces 27% more jobs per kilowatt-hour than coal plants and 66% more jobs than natural gas plants. 3. Landowners will also collect revenues for hosting turbines on their property. Given typical wind turbine spacing requirements, a 250-acre farm could increase annual farm income by $14,000 per year with little effect on their normal farming and ranching operations. 4. Local property taxes on land, which weren't in place before, creates revenue for the community.

Social

Unlike wind energy, fossil fuel plants use large amounts of water for cooling purposes which is detrimental to communities affected by drought. Since wind energy farms will help displace dependence on oil for energy, rising fuel prices won't be as harmful communities. Wind energy adds power to the electric grid which lowers the amount of money local communities have to pay for electricity. Local land owners, who produce the wind, can control the amount of energy, which expands the regional energy mix.

Environmental

Wind energy is a clean energy source and does not emit greenhouse gases compared to fossil fuel plants. Since there is no pollution, the surrounding land, water, and air is preserved. Also, fossil fuel plants use local water for cooling purposes which may harm the local ecosystem; wind farms do not use any water. Overall, the surrounding wildlife is unaffected by wind energy production.

Impacts of Community Wind Energy

Environmental Impacts

A wind turbine can be the cause of trouble when it comes to passing birds. The risk of collision with the rotors, tower, and even cables connected to a wind mill is there and some birds are killed because of it. The annual death toll from collisions is relatively low however, the high estimate being 23 bird mortalities per turbine per year. Birds can also be disrupted by visual, noise, and vibration impacts from the wind mills during construction and operation. This can potentially cause loss of habitat for these birds. Wind mills also have the potential to effect the migration of birds. This can cause a problem because they have to fly further as a result, increasing chance of increased energy expenditure and the potential disruption of linkages between distant feeding, roosting, moulting and breeding areas.

Social Impacts

Noise Emissions is a usual complaint for local citizens due to the rotating blades. Small and medium sized wind turbines can produce noise levels up to 95 dB. This is, however, improved from old noise levels, which reached up to 120 dB.

The visual impact of wind turbines is a very controversial topic. Many find wind turbines to not be very aesthetically pleasing and consider them to be an eyesore on what should be untouched landscape. Many people are supporters of wind energy, but just do not want to be effected by it. This concept is called NIMBY, or Not In My BackYard. See NIMBY

Like any other large structure, a wind mill can create a very large shadow when the sun shines. When the rotor is stationary, the shadow is normal. However, when the rotor is turning, it can create a strobe effect from the rotors cutting through the sunlight. This can be very unpleasant to people in surrounding areas, such as buildings. If multiple shadows cross, this can multiply the effect to cause increased discomfort.

Economic Impacts

Wind turbines have the potential to have adverse effects on tourism in certain communities that rely on their landscape to attract tourists. Many people find wind turbines to be unattractive and may be deterred from visiting a place because of that. There is also a potential for wind turbines to decrease property value in surrounding areas. A decrease is not always the case, but in certain cases, it can occur.

See also

• List of onshore wind farms
• Native Wind