Facts About Wind Energy and the Criterion Project

What is Wind Energy?

The energy that the wind contains can either be used directly or it can be converted into electricity by turning a wind turbine blade attached to a generator that produces power.

• When complete, the Criterion Project will include up to 67 turbines on a ridge-top site on Backbone Mountain in Garrett County, Maryland.

Wind Power is a Growing Industry

Wind is the world's fastest growing energy source on a percentage basis (31% annually for last five years - 1997-2001). Currently, there are utility-scale wind turbine engines in 26 US states. In 2001, a record number of new generating equipment was installed across 16 states. These new wind farms will produce as much electricity as used by 475,000 average American households. They will displace emissions of three million tons of carbon dioxide (the leading greenhouse gas) and more than 27,000 tons of noxious air pollutants each year. They will also generate approximately $5 million in payments to landowners annually and create some 200 skilled, long-term jobs in areas where such employment is often scarce.

• When complete, the Criterion Project will be one of the largest wind energy facilities on the East Coast bringing the benefits of wind energy to the people of Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Benefits of Wind Energy

Environment: Wind energy produces no emissions, so there is no damage to the environment or public health from emissions and wastes such as are associated with the production of electricity from conventional power plants. A single 750kW wind turbine prevents as much carbon dioxide from being emitted each year as could be absorbed by 500 acres of forest.

• When complete, the Criterion Project will displace more than 368,000,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 2,600,000 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and 860,000 pounds of nitrogen oxide each year.

Clean power production: A single 1.5 megawatt (MW) wind turbine, typical of those now being installed in power plants around the world, such as the Criterion Project, produces roughly 4.5 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually.

• When complete, the Criterion Project will provide up to 101 megawatts of green power or enough energy to serve the equivalent of up to 35,000 households in the Mid-Atlantic region annually.

Economic: Wind plants can be valuable source of property tax income for local governments (especially rural counties). Each MW of wind provides 2.5-3 job-years of employment. Wind provides approximately one skilled operations & maintenance) job for every 10 turbines installed.

• The Criterion Project will generate an estimated $3.75 million in construction phase work and purchases for local companies and an estimated $4,900 per year in income tax revenue from personal income taxes and $500,000 per year in personal property tax revenue.

Cost of Wind Energy

The cost of wind energy is declining steadily and wind's costs are now in a competitive range with those of mainstream power technologies. The cost of wind energy is dropping faster than the cost of conventional generation. Wind power today costs only about one-fifth as much as in the mid-1980s and its cost is expected to decline by further in the next five years. If environmental costs were included in the calculation of the costs of electricity generation, wind energy's competitiveness would increase further because of its low environmental impacts. Wind energy is also free of the environmental costs resulting from mining or drilling and the cost of processing, and shipping fuel.

• The Criterion Project will provide power to the region at a steady, predictable cost thereby insulating consumers from the price volatility associated with other power sources.

Impact on Communities

Wind farms can greatly benefit a community by bringing in jobs and tax revenue with very little effect on the daily lives of surrounding neighbors. They have a minimal impact on the land, and can be placed on working farms or ranches. They create very little noise - a wind turbine a quarter of a mile away is no noisier than a kitchen refrigerator. They do not create pollution and do not harm wildlife or habitats - in fact, they often limit activities that sometimes harm wildlife habitat, such as mining or logging or the building of homes with the accompanying clearing of land for lawns and views.

• The Criterion Project will be placed on a 41 acre site spread out along a ridge-top on Backbone Mountain. The Criterion site development plan allows for continued multiple land use; the land will still be open for hunting and recreation as well as limited logging and other uses even after the facility is operating.

For more information on wind energy, see the Clipper Criterion Project Web site at www.marylandwind.com or visit the Web site of the American Wind Energy Association at www.awea.org.