The Community Development Approach
Little Rock Wind, LLC, and its project manager, National Wind, follow a community-wind business model that differs greatly from the business structures of traditional wind farm developers. The main difference is that utility-scale community wind energy allows landowners to share in the actual project revenue from a successful wind farm. Traditional developers do not provide this opportunity.
Little Rock Wind is owned by Minnesota residents and is organized as a local limited liability company, under the laws of Minnesota. Described below are some additional benefits to this development approach over non-community based wind energy projects.
As a part of the business structure, a local advisory board is formed, which incorporates landowner representation. This creates an environment for open discussion, community insight, positive communication and local involvement. Landowners have the opportunity to have their voices heard and to positively partake in and influence the development process.
Little Rock Wind, when compared to developer-owned projects, distributes more benefits to local economies. Distribution of project revenue to participating landowners enriches rural economies and increases local support. Utilities and institutional investors strongly recognize and positively perceive local support because they know the project is more likely to be permitted and completed.
Many of the same development costs associated with small wind farms are also applicable to utility-scale projects. Development delays are common for small community projects that often struggle due to a lack of financial resources. Because utility-scale community projects can pool greater quantities of financial funds, they can afford economies of scale unavailable to smaller projects, allowing for faster project completion. In turn, this makes community wind more cost-competitive with traditional wind farm development structures.
Utility-scale community wind projects also provide adequate electrical output, which interests utilities and allows community-based projects to compete in the large-scale market, which can be a significant challenge for smaller wind projects.