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).
291 results Download
Project Name
State
County
Form of Benefit
Additional Form
Infrastructure Type
Number of Turbines
Generating Capacity (MW)
Year Built
Cassadaga New York Chautauqua County Formal agreement Land-based wind energy project 37 125 2021
Developed, Owned, or Operated by RWE

  • For the Cassadaga wind project, RWE has three separate host community agreements with the towns of Arkwright, Charlotte and Cherry Creek; these agreements have the same terms. The agreements include a construction period payment of $1,000 times the total number of turbines constructed and an annual host community fee in the amount of $3,800 per megawatt of nameplate rated capacity installed in each town. The latter is adjusted for inflation annually beginning with the sixth annual payment. This is in addition to tax revenues or tax agreements for the project.

  • As part of these agreements, RWE provided $425,000 total for reimbursement of the towns for their legal counsel and on-site monitor; the towns hired the same counsel and monitor.

Source

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Cohocton/Dutch Hill New York Steuben County Formal agreement Land-based wind energy project 50 125 2009
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Canandaigua Power Partners / UPC Wind / Brookfield Renewables

  • Through two host community agreements with the town of Cohocton, Cohocton/Dutch Hill Wind pays around $2,500 per megawatt annually in host community fees. The Cohocton and Dutch Hill projects were developed separately but simultaneously by the same developer (Canandaigua Power Partners), so two separate agreements were formed. Additionally, the town receives PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments. Combining the host agreement and projected PILOT payments for both projects, payments to the town were expected in 2007 to total about $11.5 million over 20 years; $8.6 million from the host agreement and $2.9 million from the town’s share of the PILOT payments. With the revenue received, Cohocton has been able to reduce property tax by 60%, as well as perform maintenance throughout the town.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Copenhagen New York Lewis County, Chautauqua County Formal agreement Fund Land-based wind energy project 40 80 2018
Developed, Owned, or Operated by RES / EDF Renewables

  • Through a host community agreement with the town of Denmark, Copenhagen Wind provides host community fees; in the first year of construction, these fees totaled $430,000. This is in addition to PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments made to taxing jurisdictions.

  • The community and EDF Renewables worked together to create the WinDenmark, a group of citizens from the town of Denmark, to distribute funds donated to the community by EDF Renewables. The group’s funds are managed by the Northern New York Community Foundation, with a committee of community members who do not stand to profit from the wind project making decisions about how to distribute funds.

  • RES (project contractor), Vestas (turbine supplier), and the local community have collaborated to purchase new playground equipment for the Copenhagen Central School District.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Eight Point New York Steuben County Formal agreement Land-based wind energy project 25 116.5 2023
Developed, Owned, or Operated by NextEra Energy Resources

  • Through a host community agreement with the town of West Union, NextEra will annually pay $3,000 per megawatt of generating capacity installed in the town. Payments are increased annually by 3% of the prior year. The agreement also includes reimbursement of legal and engineering fees incurred by West Union related to the project. This is in addition to tax revenues or tax agreements for the project.

Source

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Fenner New York Madison Formal agreement Land-based wind energy project 20 30 2001
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Atlantic Renewable Energy / Enel Green Power

  • Through a host community agreement with the town of Fenner, Fenner Wind paid $5,000 per megawatt in annual host community fees for the first 15 years of operation. This was in addition to the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments made by the project.

Source

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
High Sheldon New York Wyoming County Formal agreement Land-based wind energy project 75 112 2009
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Invenergy

  • The Town of Sheldon receives at least $6,693 per megawatt annually in host community fees, which are increased with inflation. This is in addition to PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) fees paid to the county, town, and school district.

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Jericho Rise New York Franklin County Formal agreement Land-based wind energy project 37 77 2016
Developed, Owned, or Operated by EDP Renewables

  • Through host community agreements with the towns of Chateaugay and Bellmont, Jericho Rise provides a base payment of $5,000 per megawatt per year to each town; these amounts increase with inflation. This is in addition to PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments that go to the taxing jurisdictions and school district. In 2018, Jericho Rise paid a total of $1,089,000 in PILOT, host community, and economic development fees.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Marble River New York Clinton County Formal agreement Land-based wind energy project 70 215 2012
Developed, Owned, or Operated by EDP Renewables

  • Through host community agreements with the towns of Ellenburg and Clinton, Marble River Wind pays a minimum of $3,000 per megawatt annually to each town; these payments increase with inflation. The amount that each town receives is dependent on how much of the project's generating capacity is located in that town; at the time of signing the agreements, Clinton would receive at least $554,000 annually and Ellenberg would receive at least $132,000 annually. This is in addition to PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payments from the project.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Marsh Hill New York Steuben County Donation/support to local cause Land-based wind energy project 10 16 2014
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Invenergy

  • In 2017, Invenergy donated $5,000 to the Jasper-Troupsburg Future Farmers of America.

Source

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Noble Altona New York Clinton County Formal agreement Land-based wind energy project 65 97 2009
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Noble Environmental Power / AES

  • Through a host community agreement with the Town of Altona, Noble Altona provides the town with a minimum of $3,000 per megawatt, approximately $292,500 total, per year; these payments increase with inflation. This is in addition to PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) agreements with the town, county, and school district.

  • Since 2022, AES has provided more than $120,000 in donations in Clinton County, including donations to the Ellenburg Center Fire Department, Altona Fire Department, Churubusco Fire Department, and North Adirondacks Central School District. These donations are associated with three AES wind projects in Clinton County: Clinton, Ellenburg, and Altona. AES' Social Impact Program focuses on access to efficient and affordable energy and basic services, inclusive economic growth, education, community resilience, and environmental sustainability.

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.