Community Benefit Agreements

Wind Energy Community Benefits Database

This searchable database reflects community benefit agreements (CBAs), community benefit funds, donations, and other forms of benefits from land-based and offshore wind energy developments in the U.S. compiled by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) from 2022 to 2024.

If you would like to submit a CBA that is not represented in this database, please email windcommunitybenefits@nrel.gov .

For more information about how community benefits are developed and the role they play in wind energy development, please visit the Wind Energy Community Benefits Guide. Learn more about the community impacts of wind farms.

What Forms of Community Benefits Does This Database Include?

Community benefits for wind energy projects can be structured in many ways, but the following categories are the most common and are the focus of this database:
Developers and representatives of a government or community may sign an agreement stating the benefits that will be provided from a project and detailing the mechanisms and timelines for delivering benefits. Terminology may vary, depending on factors like the type of infrastructure or who the signatories are. Common names or types include community benefit agreement, host community agreement, good neighbor agreement, and tribal benefit agreement.
Developers may provide payments, donations, or other financial benefits to a local or Tribal government outside of the bounds of a formal agreement; these are often one-time payments.
Developers may establish funds that distribute funding to different causes or recipients in the community over time, often through the form of grants. Terminology and structure may vary, with common names or types including community benefit fund, community fund, or scholarship fund.
Developers may directly donate or contribute to local organizations, programs, or causes in the community (e.g., schools, fire departments, community service organizations).
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Project Name
State
County
Form of Benefit
Additional Form
Infrastructure Type
Number of Turbines
Generating Capacity (MW)
Year Built
Vineyard Wind 1 Massachusetts Federal waters Formal agreement Fund Offshore wind energy project 62 800 Under construction as of 2024
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Vineyard Wind

  • Vineyard Wind and Vineyard Power (an electric cooperative on the island of Martha's Vineyard) signed a community benefit agreement in 2015, which includes provisions related to job creation and community engagement.

  • In 2019, Vineyard Wind partnered with Citizens Energy Corporation and Vineyard Power to establish the Resiliency and Affordability Fund. The fund will provide $1 million annually for 15 years in funding to support battery storage, solar projects, and credits to low-income ratepayers' electricity bills on Martha’s Vineyard and the Cape.

Funding for energy storage and solar projects for public buildings in communities on the island and on the mainland.
Ratepayer relief in communities hosting the Vineyard Wind project in the form of bill-credits for low-income residents.
The agreement also requires developers employ a fisheries liaison during project lifetime.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
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What Forms of Community Benefits Are Not Included in This Database?

CBAs and related forms of community benefits may be provided alongside other agreements or economic impacts that serve different purposes, such as:

  • Land lease payments to landowners that host wind turbines.
  • Project labor agreements for construction of wind energy projects.
  • Taxes or tax agreements like payment in lieu of taxes (PILOTs).
  • Direct compensation to impacted stakeholders, such as commercial fishermen.

This database does not include these other types of wind energy benefits, as they differ from CBAs and related benefit mechanisms in several key ways; namely, the community benefits included in this database are unrelated to taxation, are intended to provide benefits to the community as a whole rather than a specific group of people, like landowners, and are separate from impact mitigation measures required by permitting agencies.