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
Blue Creek Ohio Van Wert County, Paulding County Fund Donation/support to local cause Land-based wind energy project 152 304 2012
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Iberdrola

  • With a donation of $30,000 from Iberdrola, the Van Wert County Foundation established the Iberdrola Renewables Scholarship Fund. The scholarships are designed to support local students who choose to study renewable energy and attend a school within the University System of Ohio. Residents of every Ohio township where Iberdrola Renewables is currently building wind farms are eligible.

  • Blue Creek Wind Farm partners with Vantage Career Center to help prepare students for jobs in the wind industry. Support from Iberdrola has included a $150,000 donation in 2011 to help support the center's expansion into renewable energy education and training, creation of a veterans scholarship program, and partnering on curriculum development.

  • Iberdrola has sponsored community organizations and events, including: Flat Rock Creek Festival, Friends of the Paulding Chamber, Paulding County Youth Baseball, Van Wert County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau’s Rib Fest, Van Wert Elementary School book fair, Van Wert County Junior Fair, Van Wert Peony Pageant, Van Wert 911 Operations, Van Wert Junior Achievement, and Village of Convoy Fire Department. In 2011, Iberdrola donated $10,000 to the Van Wert County Historical Society and $5,000 to the John Paulding Historical Society.

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.