Community wind is a growing sector of wind development that promises to increase local energy independence and prosperity without contributing to global warming.

Use this section of the web site to learn about how community wind works, see how others have put together community wind projects, and find tools and resources to help you or your community develop your own community wind project! Use the links at left to explore different aspects of community wind. You'll also find a list of some of our favorite resources about community wind at the bottom of the page.

But first, here's a little bit of explanation about what community wind is:

Rural landowners who possess windy land currently benefit from the wind resource primarily by leasing their land to large wind developers who sell the wind energy. Others have installed their own wind turbines, individually or through local small businesses including farms, and local organizations such as schools, universities, Native American Tribes, rural electric cooperatives, municipal utilities, and even religious institutions. These projects keep more dollars in local communities, preserve local energy independence and protect the environment. This is the growing field of community wind.

The key feature of community wind is that local community members own and have a significant financial stake in the project beyond just land lease payments and tax revenue. Community wind projects can be any size, ranging from a single turbine to more than one hundred, yet typically serve local communities or consumers. Community wind projects have been installed throughout the country and are in the planning stages in virtually every state with wind power development underway. The map below shows where and how much community wind is operating today.

If you are interested in information about policy or research related to community wind and its benefits, please visit the Policy and Research section of our web site.