Every clean energy project begins with our team working to become engaged members of the community hosting our site. We value building honest, transparent relationships with the landowners we work with and these relationships last throughout our renewable energy projects' multi-decade lifespans.
Our EDPR NA team has developed clean energy solutions for communities across the continent. Building meaningful relationships within each project community is at the core of our business to ensure we are a good neighbor is a priority.
Our team has collaborated with landowners across the continent to generate more than 8,200 MW of wind energy from our 61 operational wind farms.
We generate more than 1,420 MW of solar energy at our 15 operational North America solar parks.
The reliable revenue stream provided by our clean energy projects can give landowners the financial freedom to expand their business, save for retirement, or pay for college.
Our team of experts take pride in the strong, honest relationships we build in the communities that host our renewable energy projects.
My land is very important to me. They’ve planted grass on it to keep it from eroding. They really respect the land and the landowners."
EDPR NA did more than I expected, and I'm pleased. If anyone asks me whether or not to put turbines on their land, I’d say go for it."
The wind farm brings a lot of revenue to the local area...Everybody wins with wind."
Reach out to our EDPR NA team to discuss how we can collaborate to generate clean energy and create economic value for you and your community.
Our renewable energy project approach
We value being a good neighbor throughout the entire lifespan of a project.
All wind farms, solar parks, and energy storage projects undergo extensive studies and approval processes through local, state, and federal channels regarding natural resources, habitat conservation, and wildlife impacts. Through careful site selection and thoughtful project design, impacts to the land and nearby wildlife can be mitigated or entirely avoided.
Landowner resources
Wind farms support thousands of communities by bringing jobs, economic growth, tax revenue, and lease payments to rural areas. In 2019, U.S. wind farms provided $1.6 billion in state and local tax payments and landowner lease payments.
EDPR NA begins the process of building a wind farm with extensive site and location vetting. We conduct wind resource studies, confirm access to transmission lines, and get to know the community to provide factual information and ensure residents’ questions are answered. After finalizing our studies and obtaining the proper permits, we survey the land and prepare for construction. In addition to turbine erection, construction includes improving the roads, establishing an operations and maintenance (O&M) building, and connecting the turbines to the electric grid through transmission lines. Once construction is complete, we begin the reclamation process, restoring the land back to its original state. For more information, watch our construction video.
Limited water is needed to produce solar (and wind) energy. Our solar parks conserve millions of gallons of water every year, displace carbon emissions from fossil fuel power plants, and enhance air quality by mitigating the health effects of harmful air pollutants.
Wind energy is far less harmful to wildlife than other energy sources. The National Audubon Society strongly supports properly sited wind power as a renewable energy source helping reduce the threats posed to birds. Further, bird fatalities at wind energy facilities represent a very small fraction of total annual human-caused bird mortality, approximately two to four orders of magnitude lower than other human sources of mortality. Also, more than 98 percent of land used for wind farms is left untouched by turbines and project infrastructure and can still be used for livestock grazing, agriculture, wildlife habitat, homes, highways, and recreation.
Utility-scale solar parks do not pose a significant risk to the loss of agricultural land. In fact, solar parks can generate enough electricity to power the U.S. using just 0.6 percent of land, or roughly the same area currently used for surface coal mining. Our team is dedicated to avoiding impacts to wildlife and natural resources and conducts extensive land, wildlife, and vegetation studies prior to construction of a solar park. We also continue to monitor wildlife during our projects’ operations. Since almost all solar park infrastructure is above ground, solar parks can also provide an opportunity for heavily farmed land to recover and regain nutrients for the next generation.
Let’s work together on a better tomorrow for all.