By Paige Dietrich, former staff member
Wind energy has many quantifiable benefits for rural America. It’s a renewable energy source that produces no greenhouse gases, consumes no water and uses very little land. And wind power pays $222 million a year to rural landowners and saves 226 gallons of water a year in the U.S.
Let’s focus on a more local scale such as Huron County, Mich., and the benefits the county has gained from investing in wind energy.
Huron County received $9.8 million in revenue from wind development in 2015. Of this $9.8 million, $2.7 million have gone to county services including roads, transit, medical care and services for seniors and veterans. $4.1 million dollars went to local school funding, and another $2.6 million went to township services including roads, police, fire and emergency services.
Not just Huron County benefits from wind energy in Michigan - following closely behind with $5 million in revenue was Sanilac County and behind that was Tuscola County with $4 million in revenue.
We believe clean energy offers a significant opportunity to diversify the rural economy, create new opportunity and address the root cause of climate change. The Center has worked hard to develop communication among stakeholders, landowners and community members in the process of developing wind energy and transmission.
See our clean energy transmission database here. Learn about our work to replace coal-fired energy with renewables.
