Landowner Income
Payments to property owners through land leases.

Community Income
Revenues to local communities through taxes or payment in lieu of taxes (Wasco County is a Rural Renewable Energy Development Zone (RREDZ)).

Employment
First Wind’s policy is to hire locally, creating construction and long-term operations and maintenance jobs.

Community Outreach
First Wind supports community-led programs aimed at strengthening local development and participation.

Cost of Power
Due to technological advances, wind power has become competitive on a price basis with conventional fossil fuel generation sources. Furthermore, wind energy has none of the environmental and health costs associated with the burning of these fuels.

ENVIRONMENTAL

In the State of Oregon, the 60 MW Cascade Wind Farm would avoid emissions of:

• Nitrogen Oxides in the State of Oregon 55.34 metric tons per year
• Sulfur Dioxide in the State of Oregon 38.74 metric tons per year
• Carbon Dioxide in the State of Oregon 14,911.15 metric tons per year— equivalent to 4,074.09 metric tons of carbon per year

Emissions calculations are based on assumptions provided by the Green Power Market Development Group.

Water
Wind energy uses no water in energy production and emits no mercury, a leading cause of contamination of our rivers, lakes, and oceans from conventional electricity production.

ENERGY SECURITY

Abundant Underutilized Resource
Wind energy generates power from a renewable and inexhaustible resource. It reduces dependence on fossil fuel imports and diversifies the energy supply.

Energy Price Volatility Reduction
The volatile cost of gas and oil directly impacts energy prices. Wind power, with no fuel cost, reduces the overall volatility of energy prices.