• JEDI is a free input-output model that estimates 

employment and other impacts resulting from an 

investment in DW installations.

• Default inputs are from installers and industry 

experts and are based on existing projects.

• User input can be minimal (use defaults) or very 

detailed for more precise results.

JEDI can help: 

• Evaluate potential scenarios, current or future

• Inform stakeholders and decision-makers

• Assist businesses in:

• Evaluating economic development impacts

• Estimating jobs

• Assist government organizations with:

• Planning and evaluating

• Developing communities.

The goal of this work is to provide a model that estimates jobs and other 

economic effects associated with the domestic distributed wind (DW) industry.

DW can be installed on residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial, and community sites of any size and can be 

connected on the customer side of the meter (to serve the onsite load) or directly to the local grid. The market 

includes wind turbines and projects of many sizes.

NREL is a national laboratory of the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency

and Renewable Energy, operated by the Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC.

COUNTING JOBS AND ECONOMIC IMPACTS FROM 

DISTRIBUTED WIND IN THE UNITED STATES Suzanne Tegen 

May 5-8, 2014 • PO-5000-61252 

The information contained in this poster is subject to a government license.

AWEA WINDPOWER

Las Vegas, Nevada

May 5–8, 2014

NREL/PO-5000-61252

2003-2012 Cumulative U.S. Distributed Wind Capacity

The Jobs and Economic Development Impacts (JEDI) Model

• Currently in development

• Turbine size categories:

~2.5 kW ~300 kW

~10 kW ~600 kW

~50 kW ~900 kW

~100 kW

• The model user can add additional sizes as long as 

they have necessary inputs (including capital costs 

and annual operating costs).

• Supply chain and manufacturing jobs vary by turbine 

size and state.

• Default inputs and assumptions are from recent 

projects and industry interviews.

DW JEDI Model Status

Please contact Suzanne Tegen at NREL. 

Better data = a better model. 

More actual project data helps model users calculate 

more accurate estimates.

NREL needs data on turbines between 

1 and 1,000 kW, including:

• Capital costs for DW projects, including turbines

• Installation labor costs

• Permitting costs and labor

• Operation & maintenance parts and labor costs

• Whether parts and labor are local.

Note: Individual data will never be made public

but will be used to validate existing aggregated information. Cost 

and labor ranges may be provided instead of a dollar amount.

How You Can Help

Inconsistent cost trends could be due to issues with individual 

turbines. For the purposes of this research, they are categorized by 

size (nameplate capacity). Preliminary model runs indicate that DW 

supports more jobs per megawatt than utility-based wind. These JEDI 

model estimates may change as the model is updated. The JEDI 

model provides gross (not net) jobs estimates.

Your friends and neighbors employed in the DW industry, state and 

federal policy-makers, local decision-makers, small wind 

manufacturers, installers, and salespeople care about jobs. 

Note: The above map shows DW installations between 2003-2012. At the end of 2012, U.S. wind 

turbines in distributed applications reached a 10-year cumulative installed capacity of more than 

812 MW from more than 69,000 units across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands 

(DOE 2013).

In 2012, the average installed cost of new small wind turbines in the United States was $6,960/kW, 

a 15% increase from 2011. U.S.-based manufacturers’ weighted average 2012 installed cost of 

$6,510 was 19% lower than non-U.S. suppliers (DOE 2013). 

Data and statistics for 2013 will be available in DOE’s 2013 Market Report on Wind Technologies in 

Distributed Applications in summer 2014.

• Verify model’s validity with industry: project owners, 

installers, manufacturers, and counties

• Test the model

• Facilitate external peer review process

• Issue user guides

• Publish the model online 

• Manage and maintain models.

*Full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs are used in these estimates. For 

example, one FTE is one worker employed full time for 1 year or two 

workers employed half-time for 1 year.

Photo from Northern Power Systems, NREL 16730

Source: DOE 2012 Market Report on Wind Technologies in Distributed Applications

Photo from Forbes Park LLC, NREL 16116

Photo from MA Technology Collaborative, NREL 14872

Who Cares about Wind Jobs?

NREL’s Role in JEDI Model Development

Initial Results from the Draft DW JEDI Model: Jobs in Full-TimeEquivalent

Phase Utility-Based Wind FTE* DW FTE*

Construction 6070 jobs/100 MW Up to 550 jobs/100 MW

Operations 67 jobs/100 MW ~ 825 jobs/100 MW

Initial Results from the Draft DW JEDI Model: Costs

~2.5 kW 10.1 – 50 kW 100 kW 1,000 kW

Installed

Capital Cost

$5,500 -

$8,500/kW

~$6,000/kW $5,200 -

$6,000/kW

$2,200 –

$3,300/kW

Operation & 

Maintenance

$60 -$65/kW $50 - $55/kW $25-$35/kW ~$30/kW