Job and Economic Development Impact (JEDI) Model: A User-Friendly Tool to Calculate Economic Impacts from Wind Projects; Preprint

The U.S. Department of Energy/National Renewable Energy Laboratory (DOE/NREL) has developed a spreadsheet-based wind model (Jobs and Economic Development Impact (JEDI)) that incorporates economic multipliers for jobs, income, and output. Originally developed with state-specific parameters, it can also be used to conduct county and regional analyses. NREL has enlisted the Wind Powering America (WPA) State Wind Working Groups (SWWGs) to conduct county-specific economic impact analyses and has encouraged them to use JEDI if they do not have their own economic model. The objective of the analyses is to identify counties within WPA target states, and preferably counties with a significant agricultural sector, that could economically benefit from wind development. These counties could then explore opportunities to tap into the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Bill Section 9006 grants and loans to stimulate wind development. This paper describes the JEDI model and how i t can be used. We will also summarize a series of analyses that were completed to fulfill a General Accounting Office (GAO) request to provide estimates of the economic development benefits of wind power.