There are a number of associated benefits with renewable energy projects that should be considered by communities. In addition to individual landowners that may benefit from personal payments related to the projects, a key community-wide benefit is the economic benefit of added tax revenue from renewable energy development. Both utility-scale wind and solar projects are taxed as personal property and since they are relatively large investments, this can mean there are significant tax revenues associated with the developments. Because energy projects in the state are taxed as industrial personal property, the taxable value typically declines over time, so communities will see the largest tax benefit in the first few years of the project operation. This is illustrated on the state's current wind energy multiplier table.
In the vein of economic benefits, communities may also benefit from increased economic activity during construction of the development. This may include added jobs for community members in the construction process, but also could mean increased activity for local businesses in the hospitality sector as there is an influx of people during the construction of the project. It should be noted that these benefits may only be short-term during the time that the project is being constructed.
Renewable energy developments can also bring local environmental benefits to the community that hosts the project. Wind or solar developments in a community can help to meet the energy needs of the community through clean sources compared to traditional fossil fuel-dependent energy production. In addition, if a community has goals related to climate action or resiliency, having renewable energy development within their jurisdiction is a key factor in contributing to these goals.