Wind Powering America Fact Sheet Series

Wind turbines are compatible with rural land uses. Crops can be grown and 

livestock can be grazed up to the base of the turbine.

1 Wind energy is economically competitive. With today’s rising coal and gas prices, new wind plants compete favorably against 

any new electricity generation source. In fact, when the Colorado Public 

Service Commission issued a ruling on the 161-megawatt (MW) wind 

project in Lamar, Colorado, the commission determined that wind 

energy provided the lowest cost of any generation resource submitted 

to a solicitation bid by Xcel Energy. The commission also noted that 

unlike the other generation resources considered, the Lamar project 

avoided a future risk of increased fuel prices.1

2 Wind energy is a valuable crop of the future for farmers 

and ranchers. Wind farms located in rural areas generate 

energy that can be transmitted to load centers in urban areas via the 

regional utility grid. The rural areas retain the jobs, as well as land lease 

revenue for farmers and ranchers (as much as $4000 per turbine per 

year). Wind turbines are compatible with rural land uses—crops can be 

grown and livestock can be grazed up to the base of the turbine.2

Wind energy also provides an increased local tax base for rural areas. 

Prowers County, home to the Lamar project, increased its local tax 

base by $32 million.3 The 912 MW of new wind power installed 

in Texas in 2001 will deliver $13.3 million in tax revenue for schools 

and counties.4

3 Unlike most other electricity generation sources, wind 

turbines don’t consume water. Irrigation and thermal electric 

generation account for approximately 77% of U.S. fresh water use. 

Conventional plants generating power from fossil and nuclear fuels use 

large amounts of water for cooling; wind turbines do not use water.5

That makes wind energy a great choice for drought-stricken 

communities in rural America.

4 Wind energy is an indigenous, homegrown energy source 

that contributes to national security. The United States is the 

world’s largest importer of oil and natural gas, which often originate in 

troubled areas of the world. The Great Plains region, which has been 

dubbed “the Saudi Arabia of wind” because of its tremendous 

untapped wind energy potential, offers homegrown energy, which 

increases national security. Reliance on indigenous resources also 

reduces the balance of payments that threatens our national economic 

security. Because of the distributed aspect of wind energy, it is less 

vulnerable than large liquefied natural gas (LNG) ports or large 

thermoelectric power plants. 

Wind Energy Benefi ts

Wind Energy Benefits

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Wind Energy Benefi ts
A Strong Energy Portfolio for a Strong America

Energy efficiency and clean, renewable energy will mean a stronger economy, a cleaner 

environment, and greater energy independence for America. Working with a wide array of state, 

community, industry, and university partners, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy 

Efficiency and Renewable Energy invests in a diverse portfolio of energy technologies. 

For more information contact:

EERE Information Center

1-877-EERE-INF (1-877-337-3463)

www.eere.energy.gov

Produced for the U.S. Department of Energy by the 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 

a DOE national laboratory

Printed with a renewable-source ink on paper containing at 

least 50% wastepaper, including 20% postconsumer waste

DOE/GO-102005-2123 • April 2005

5 Wind energy is inexhaustible and infinitely renewable. Unlike 

conventional fossil fuels, wind energy is 

renewable, abundant energy that will be 

available for future generations.

6 Wind energy has many environmental benefits. Wind 

energy is clean energy that produces 

no emissions, which means it doesn’t 

contribute to acid rain and snow, global 

climate change, smog, regional haze, 

mercury contamination, water 

withdrawal, and particulate-related 

health effects. 

7 Because wind energy’s “fuel” is free, it reduces the risk 

associated with volatile fossil fuel 

prices. Wind displaces electricity that 

would otherwise be produced by burning natural gas, thus helping 

to reduce gas demand and limit gas price hikes. According to the 

American Wind Energy Association, the current U.S. gas shortage 

amounts to approximately 3 to 4 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day. By the 

end of 2004, wind plants were generating about 17 billion kilowatthours (kWh) annually, or the equivalent of nearly 0.5 Bcf/day of natural 

gas.6 In most areas of the country, every kilowatt-hour of electricity 

produced by wind power helps reduce the demand for natural gas used 

to generate electricity. Lower demand for natural gas helps mitigate 

rising costs of consumer heating and electricity, industrial processes, 

and chemical and agricultural feedstocks. 

8 Wind energy is the fuel of today and tomorrow. Today, wind provides competitive electricity. Tomorrow, it is likely to 

be the cheapest source of electricity for the distributed generation 

of hydrogen. 

9 Wind energy can be used in a variety of applications.Small wind turbines, alone or as part of a hybrid system, can 

power homes, businesses, and farms/ranches. Wind energy is perfect 

for remote applications, such as water pumping, ice making, powering 

telecommunications sites, and displacing diesel fuel in villages. 

Community wind projects include projects for schools, tribes, municipal 

utilities, and rural electric cooperatives. 

10 The people want wind energy. Because of all the reasons listed above, along with concern over debilitating illnesses 

associated with air pollutants, wind has overwhelming public support. 

Many people express their support by purchasing blocks of wind 

energy to power their homes or businesses. Xcel Energy’s Windsource, 

the largest customer-driven wind energy program in the nation (more 

than 30,000 participants), experienced 30% annual growth from 

1998 to 2003. Deliberative public polling in Texas7 and Nebraska8

demonstrated overwhelming support of wind energy as an element of 

the generation portfolio. Because customers want wind as a portion of 

their electricity portfolio, more than 300 utilities currently offer green 

pricing programs that include wind energy.

_____________

1 www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/pdfs/xcel_wind_

decision.pdf

2 www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/pdfs/wpa/

33590_econ_dev.pdf

3 Personal communication, John Stulp, Prowers County Commissioner, Jan. 10, 

2005

4 www.citizen.org/documents/Tx%20Energy%20Powerhouse.pdf 

5 www.catf.us/publications/reports/The_Last_Straw.pdf

6 www.awea.org/newsroom/Wind%20Energy%20Basics%20-%202005-

0406.pdf

7 www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/pdfs/33177_

tx.pdf

8 www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/filter_

detail.asp?itemid=700

D. A. Black/PIX12866

Wind energy provides 40-160 construction jobs and 

10-25 operations and maintenance jobs per 100 MW.

Wind farms, such as the Brazos Wind Ranch in Texas 

pictured here, provide new jobs, tax revenue, and 

landowner income.

© GE Wind Energy All Rights Reserved/PIX12334