Community Wind

Project Director		Mark Sinclair, Jenn DeDesaro
Consultant(s)

CESA is working to develop more fully its Community Wind Project throughout the fall of 2006.

Though historically confined Europe, "community wind" projects, i.e., locally owned, utility-scale wind projects interconnected on either side of the meter, are a topic of increasing interest in the US, not just among farmers and other potential local investors, but also among state policymakers interested in renewable energy. Several states are currently supporting community wind in a variety of ways, leading to the development of different types of projects. With policy support from an increasing number of states, community wind in the US may be approaching a "tipping point". CESA has established a working group to examine opportunities for broader CESA collaboration in the area of community wind. Among the priorities for this working group are:

• Bundled turbine procurement
• Bundled tax equity and finance partnerships
• Promotion of complementary distributed generation policies
• Advancing the use of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBS)

A Survey of State Support for Community Wind Power Development, by Mark Bolinger. LBL and CESA release a new report in their Case Studies of State Support for Renewable Energy series. March 2004.

Though historically confined Europe, "community wind" projects, i.e., locally owned, utility-scale wind projects interconnected on either side of the meter, are a topic of increasing interest in the US, not just among farmers and other potential local investors, but also among state policymakers interested in renewable energy. Several states are currently supporting community wind in a variety of ways, leading to the development of different types of projects. With policy support from an increasing number of states, community wind in the US may be approaching a "tipping point".

CESA surveyed existing small wind programs and related initiatives to evaluate how they address a dozen issues. The report is listed below.

CESA Small Wind Project Overview Report, Oct. 2003 , By David Cooperman, CESA Intern and edited by Roger Clark, CESA Project Director for Wind Projects.