Repowering the Midwest

ELPC’s newly updated Community Wind Financing Handbook is now available! This hot-off-the-press guide reflects new financing opportunities available from federal energy and economic stimulus legislation, the new Farm Bill, and state incentives. The new Handbook provides the latest information on financing community wind projects, including ownership structures, roles of financial intermediaries, sources of federal [...]

The boom in clean energy development, especially wind power, presents a tremendous opportunity for economic growth in the Midwest. This boom would create additional construction jobs, long-term operations and maintenance positions, and a positive indirect economic impact due to payroll spending, property tax revenue and land leases. Some of the best long-term economic opportunities will [...]

South Dakota is poised over the next few years to become a national leader in wind power generation. The available wind resources are among the best in the country, and public officials have expressed strong interest in promoting wind energy as a way to boost the state’s economy, aid landowners and produce clean energy. [...]

Agriculture can strengthen our nation’s energy security. More clean renewable energy and energy efficiency in rural America helps to meet our nation’s energy needs while boosting local economies, improving environmental quality and strengthening our energy infrastructure.
Americans are looking for more clean energy choices, and agriculture can provide them. The 2002 Farm Bill created programs to [...]

Implementing the Repowering the Midwest Clean Energy Development Plan would create more than 200,000 new jobs across the 10-state Midwest region by 2020, up to $5.5 billion in additional worker income, and up to $20 billion in increased economic activity. That’s the key finding of Job Jolt, a comprehensive study of the economic impacts [...]

The Clean Energy Development Plan for the Heartland will shift the region’s electricity portfolio from an over-reliance on polluting coal to and nuclear plants to cleaner fuels. The plan points the way toward implementation of smart policies and practices to capture readily achievable environmental, public health and economic development benefits. This sustainable development strategy [...]