Wind power development has rapidly expanded in rural areas in the United States. Numerous studies addressing the impacts of wind development on rural communities focus on overall economic, environmental, and social effects (Brown et al., 2012; Kahn, 2013; Mulvaney et al., 2013). This research builds on those to add the impacts of substantial wind power development on community services and the cost of living, focusing on eleven rural counties with wind energy development over 1000 MW in five different states in the U.S. The research uses descriptive statistical analysis to document county-level changes in the population size, employment, and poverty rate before and after hosting substantial wind projects from 1990 to 2015. Qualitative analysis of interviews and county documents identified data on and perceptions of the impacts of the wind projects on tax revenues as well as community services. We find that wind development tax income improved community services without any noticeable increases in required community services or cost of living. From a policy perspective, these results are most relevant for local governors and planners, who seek to balance the cost and benefits of wind farms to the rural community.

在美国农村地区，风电发展迅速。有关风能发展对农村社区影响的众多研究都侧重于整体经济，环境和社会影响（Brown等人，2012； Kahn，2013； Mulvaney等人，2013）。这项研究的基础是增加大量风力发电对社区服务和生活成本的影响，重点是美国五个不同州的11个风能发展超过1000 MW的农村县。该研究使用描述性统计分析来记录从1990年到2015年，在开展大规模的风能项目之前和之后，县级人口数量，就业和贫困率的变化。对访谈和县级文件的定性分析确定了有关风能项目对税收以及社区服务的影响的数据和感知。我们发现，风能开发税收入改善了社区服务，而所需的社区服务或生活成本没有任何明显的增加。从政策的角度来看，这些结果与地方政府官员和计划者最为相关，他们试图平衡风电场给农村社区带来的成本和收益。