In the winter of 2003, a wheat field in Northern California carried on much as before: sheep grazed the land, barley crop grew, and nearby, 90 new wind turbines turned quietly, each generating income for the farmer who owned the land beneath them. This is the setup in Montezuma Hills, located 40 miles to the northeast of San Francisco, California, where FPL Energy began operating the High Winds Energy Center, a 162 MW wind-power plant capable of providing electricity for 75,000 homes.
According to a 2004 GAO report, which highlighted several wind-power related expenditures and tax expenditures in the United States of America, farmers who lease their land to wind turbine developers may expect to make up to $2,000 and $5,000 per turbine annually, on average, as a decent and steady income stream from the land, which may be used for the same purpose as before the wind turbine was built.
