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
Block Island Rhode Island Block Island Formal agreement Non-financial Offshore wind energy project 5 30 2016
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Deepwater Wind

  • Deepwater Wind formed a community benefit agreement with the island town of New Shoreham, RI, which includes improvements to town infrastructure. This included Deepwater Wind installing a fiber optic cable within the transmission line for the Block Island Wind Farm, expanding high speed Internet access for the island's residents. The wind project also reduced the island's electricity costs by 40%, as it reduced reliance on diesel generators.

  • Deepwater Wind reimbursed the town of New Shoreham for the hiring of technical consultants to assist with the community's involvement in the project and benefit agreement.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
SouthCoast Rhode Island Portsmouth Formal agreement Fund Offshore wind energy cable landing N/A N/A Not yet built
Developed, Owned, or Operated by SouthCoast Wind Energy

  • In 2024, the town of Portsmouth, RI and SouthCoast Wind Energy signed a host community agremeent that will provide $23.2 million to the town over the SouthCoast project lifetime. This includes a $500,000 payment after the agreement was signed, two $250,000 payments at the start of each project phase's construction, annual payments of $250,000 for 20 years (increased annually), and annual payments of $125,000 in years 21-33 of the project if it is still operating. A fixed portion ($125,000) of the annual payment amount is considered a PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) payment. Additionally, the agreement includes a $3.25 million payment at the start of construction that will go into a town climate resilience fund or other public benefit project.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Campbell County South Dakota Campbell County Payment to government outside of an agreement Land-based wind energy project 55 94.3 2015
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Fagen / Dakota Plains Energy / Con Edison

  • In 2016, ConEdison and Fagen donated $250,000 to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. The Campbell County wind farm is near the Standing Rock reservation.

  • Dakota Plains Energy donated in support of a new daycare in Herried, SD.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Coyote Ridge South Dakota Brookings County Donation/support to local cause Land-based wind energy project 39 97 2019
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Avangrid / WEC Energy Group / Invenergy

  • In summer 2022, several of Invenergy's wind projects in South Dakota (Deuel Harvest, Tatanka Ridge, and Coyote Ridge) sponsored the annual Gary Rodeo.

Source

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Crocker South Dakota Clark County Fund Donation/support to local cause Land-based wind energy project 77 200 2019
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Geronimo Energy

  • Geronimo Energy established a $800,000 Community Fund for its Crocker Wind Farm. The Crocker Community Fund receives an estimated $40,000 per year for a period of 20 years. The fund board was elected and is composed of local landowners in the project footprint, as well as Clark County residents. The Fund donations will be funded by Geronimo and dispersed by the newly elected board to support charitable causes within and near Crocker.

  • In 2022/23, Geronimo Energy made several donations to community organizations, including the Bradley fire department, the Clark County ambulance department (for a new GPS tracking system), and adopting a local highway.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Crow Lake / Prairie Winds 1 ND & SD South Dakota Jerauld County, Brule County, Aurora County Donation/support to local cause Non-financial Land-based wind energy project 101 151.5 2010, 2011
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Basin Electric Power Cooperative

  • Basin Electric Cooperative donates $500 annually to the Max, ND fire department and runs an annual awareness training to familiarize emergency responders with the wind facility. The small volunteer fire department is able to send several firefighters to the state fire school each February for training thanks to the donation.

Source

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Crowned Ridge I & II South Dakota Grant County, Codington County, Deuel County Donation/support to local cause Non-financial Land-based wind energy project 175 400 2019, 2020
Developed, Owned, or Operated by NextEra Energy Resources / Northern States Power Company / Xcel Energy

  • NextEra Energy Resources has supported local organizations and events, including Crystal Springs Rodeo, South Dakota Wind for Schools program, Kite Day at the Capitol, SDSU Wind Application Center, Mitchell Tech / Lake Area Tech, and Molded Fiber Glass. Crowned Ridge has sponsored the Crystal Springs Rodeo since 2016.

  • Crowned Ridge developed a partnership with Codington County schools to provide a workshop for educators that would deliver wind energy lessons they could incorporate into their curriculums. These lesson plans will complement South Dakota state education standards, and help school supplement their STEM programs.

Sources

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Dakota Range I and II South Dakota Codington County, Grant County Donation/support to local cause Land-based wind energy project 72 304 2022
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Apex Clean Energy / Northern States Power Company / Xcel Energy

  • Apex Clean Energy has supported community oganizations and events, including expansion of the high school in Summit, Fog Days, Summit’s Volunteer Fire Department, Summit High School History Club’s trip to Washington, DC, and local Boys & Girls Club.

Source

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Dakota Range III South Dakota Roberts County, Grant County Donation/support to local cause Land-based wind energy project 32 151 2021
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Apex Clean Energy / ENGIE

  • Apex Clean Energy has supported community oganizations and events, including expansion of the high school in Summit, Summit’s Volunteer Fire Department, Summit High School History Club’s trip to Washington, DC, local Boys & Girls Club, trunk or treat event in Sisseton, rodeo at Sisseton Wahpeton College, Farm Lunches and Chili cook off by the Sisseton Chamber of Commerce, and Milbank Chamber of Commerce Kite and Fly event.

Source

Verified by WINDExchange on Aug. 1, 2024
Deuel Harvest North South Dakota Deuel County Fund Donation/support to local cause Land-based wind energy project 109 301 2021
Developed, Owned, or Operated by Invenergy / Southern Power

  • Beginning in 2021, the Invenergy Deuel School Scholarship provides at least $30,000 annually in scholarships to graduating seniors from Deuel High School. Invenergy created the scholarship with participating landowners Jim Dailey and Greg Toben; in 2023 and 2024 respectively, $48,000 and $50,000 in scholarships were distributed due to the landowners' contributions on top of Invenergy's annual $30,000 contribution.

  • In summer 2022, several of Invenergy's South Dakota wind projects (Deuel Harvest, Tatanka Ridge, and Coyote Ridge) sponsored the annual Gary Rodeo.

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.