Wind of Change: Energy Blows Across Nebraska Thanks to Wind Farms

Off the coast of Grimsby, England, the largest offshore wind farm in the world created over 500 jobs for a deteriorating fishing town while providing enough clean, renewable energy to power over 2 million homes each day.

Facing sky-high utility costs and accessibility challenges, the community of Molokaʻi, Hawaii, took their energy security into their own hands and developed an energy-resilience-focused action plan. Backed by the primary state utility, the community is installing solar arrays and batteries, some of which are collectively owned and subscription-based. At the same time, the solar cooperative is cultivating a local workforce specialized in solar infrastructure.

Federal tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act and added incentives from the state of Colorado and its municipalities is drawing in clean energy companies, creating new jobs, and helping the state meet its decarbonization goals.

In Spain, Higueruela transformed wind farm revenues into municipal investments—funding schools, transportation, senior care, and local jobs—which stabilized the town's declining population and created a sustainable economic model that now provides 40% of its annual budget. A key success factor includes allowing the community to negotiate and reject projects that don't serve local interests.

Over 300 SolarCorps fellows in the inaugural class of the United States Climate Corps, a workforce-training program, are engaging with communities and installing solar panels to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Fellows work with different organizations across several states, such as the nonprofit GRID Alternatives, which is focused on bringing no-cost solar installations to underserved communities.

With funding and support from the Heritage Foundation Pakistan, a remote, off-grid village installed a solar energy system that supplies residents with free power and has improved their quality of life.

In rural Huron, California, an electric vehicle ride-sharing program, called Green Raiteros, provides free rides for low-income residents who need to get to medical appointments. The organization's 120 clients can call in advance, or just show up when they need a ride.

An abandoned, flooded mine in Bishrampur, India, is now an eco-tourism site where visitors can take a boat ride to a floating restaurant and locals breed fish. The new facilities offer employment for some of the residents who were left out of work when the mine closed.

The use of plastic waste as an affordable building material is rising in popularity. One option is turning the waste into “Ecobricks” by tightly packing it into a bottle with a stick. A German organization called Project Wings pays locals in Bukit Lawang, Indonesia, to collect plastic and make bricks to be used for buildings.

A regional cap-and-trade program in the northeast United States has reduced carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and led to overall job gains in the economy. Up to 50 percent of the region’s CO2 reductions are attributable to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative program and nine of the states participating report training more than 8,000 workers.