| Consider the Benefits to Rural Pennsylvania Just 100 megawatts of locally-owned wind power could mean $14 million in annual revenues and many environmental benefits (see Table below). Currently, Pennsylvania has 294 megawatts of wind power, enough electricity for 90,000 homes (see American Wind Energy Association’s Wind Profile of Pennsylvania). These 294 megawatts are a significant source of sustainable economic development benefits as clean electricity pour thousands of dollars into rural communities while not using any water or emitting any pollution. However, none of these projects is locally-owned and so community-based wind power is still a mostly untapped resource. This means there are great wind resource areas that larger corporations might not be interested in because they can't do a largeenough project--but a smaller project would benefit the community!
| “I was pleased with all the support I felt at the Borrowers Workshop. There was room for us to participate and ask questions. Your team and all the presenters had lots of expertise, energy and enthusiasm.”
-Community Wind Project client |
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Economic and Environmental Impact of 100 MW
of Community Wind in Pennsylvania [1]
Economic | Benefits | 100MW | | Kwh production | 260,100,000 | | Number of US homes equivalent | 30,000 | | Revenue | $14 million | | Capital investment | $170 million |
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Environmental | Carbon Dioxide (lbs) | 147 million | Nitrous Oxide | 676,000 | | Sulfur Dioxide | 1.6 million |
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[1] Source: Economic Calculations: use a 30% capacity factor, typical of Pennsylvania, assume a Class 3+ wind resource and a $1.7 million per installed megawatt estimation for capital costs and $0.06/kwh for wholesale revenue (an average PPA rate in Pennsylvania according to Tom Tuffey); Note: many of these projects may be net metered resulting in much higher revenue/cost savings; Offset Calculations: uses figures from EPA Power Profiler—eGRID and NC Greenpower |