As their blades rotate in the strong South Dakota winds, the 108 turbines at Crow Lake Wind Farm generate clean electricity that displaces energy sourced from dirty fossil fuels. Along with avoiding emissions, the turbines are also used to educate students at a nearby technical college and prepare them for careers as wind technicians, and the ongoing operation of the wind farm supports local jobs.

With its sprawling prairies and some of the strongest winds in the United States, South Dakota is an ideal location for wind energy generation. Yet for many years, the state’s wind energy potential was largely untapped. In 2010, only 14% of South Dakota’s electricity came from wind energy while the remainder was primarily from fossil fuels and hydroelectric sources.  

Over the past decade, many new wind farms were built across South Dakota. Now, thousands of wind turbines dot the state’s rural farmlands and open plains. As a result, more than half (54%) of South Dakota’s electricity is now produced by clean, renewable wind energy.

This carbon offset project supports the Crow Lake Wind Farm which sits on 36,000 acres of land near Chamberlain, South Dakota. The wind farm consists of 108 turbines which began operating in 2011. Prior to its construction, an environmental impact assessment was conducted to minimize negative impacts on grasslands, bird populations, and other natural resources. 

Altogether, the wind turbines are expected to produce around 513,000 megawatt hours of clean electricity each year. This is enough to power more than 43,000 average American homes. This energy is delivered to a bulk transmission system which provides electricity to numerous states including Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Iowa, and Minnesota. By displacing energy from fossil fuel power plants with zero emissions wind energy, the Crow Lake Wind Farm avoids an average of 430,000 metric tons of carbon emissions each year.    

Along with generating clean energy, the wind farm also supports career development for local communities. Since one of the wind turbines at Crow Lake is owned by a local technical college, students can gain hands-on experience climbing and maintaining it as they train to become wind turbine technicians. The wind farm itself directly employs 11 people. 

This community-based project avoids forest loss in the Amazonian ‘Arc of Deforestation’ by promoting sustainable use of an extractive forest reserve. Local families will gain income via the production of non-timber forest products and the project offers social benefits in health and education.

Located in the “Amazonian ‘Arc of Deforestation,” the Rio Preto-Jacundá Extractive Reserve is a conservation area spanning approximately 235,000 acres (95,000 hectares). The area faces pressures from squatters, illegal logging and the informal expansion of smallholder farms and ranches. Apart from the detrimental effects on the environment, which is home to 273 flora species and 787 fauna species, these external pressures also impinge on the resource rights of the rubber tapper community that has historically called this area home.

This project is an ongoing community-based REDD+ project. Faced with the challenge of protecting their trees and preserving their traditional livelihood which involves the sustainable extraction of forest products, the Rio Preto-Jacundà community developed a multi-use management plan for the sustainable use of the extractive reserve. This project supports this plan and aims to avoid the deforestation of at least 35,000 hectares over the duration of the project. The project promotes the sustainable production of non-timber products such as wild rubber and its by-products which include acai and brazil nuts. In addition, the project will increase surveillance of the area through satellite monitoring of deforestation and on-the-ground patrols.  

The project also provides benefits to 130 families, including the potential for increased income generation; the improvement of housing and sanitary conditions; and the establishment of schools that provide child and adult learning services. Through the training of community members as health care agents, this project is also expected to provide significant improvements in community health by building capacity to monitor and control the most common and lethal diseases. 

The Soma Wind Farm reduces Turkey’s reliance on fossil fuel power plants by generating over 450,000 MWh of clean, renewable wind energy each year. Along with fighting climate change, the project also supports employment and skills development related to the construction and operation of the wind farm.

The Soma Enerji Elektrik Üretim Wind Farm Project is a grid-connected onshore wind farm project in the Manisa and Balıkesir Provinces of Turkey. Consisting of 119 wind turbines the site has a maximum power generation capacity of 140.1 MW when fully operational. Annually, the site generates over 450,000 MW of energy. With an expected lifespan of 30 years the Project Activity is expected to continue to realize emission reductions from decreased reliance on fossil fuel burning plants well after the crediting period ceases. 

Soma – Polat contributes to a local sustainable development by creating jobs in Turkey and the surrounding the region while procuring available services like subcontractors and equipment manufacturing. On-site operations also increased knowledge regarding local development of replicable technology to assist in transfer of similar projects to proximal regions in Turkey.

The 36 turbines that dot the hillsides at Aliağa Wind Farm harness the power of Turkey’s powerful wind resources to generate a clean source of renewable energy. Along with preventing carbon emissions from fossil fuels, the wind farm provides an affordable new source of energy to keep up with Turkey’s growing demand for electricity and supports local service providers and job opportunities.

The Aliağa Wind Farm operates thirty-six turbines, each having a capacity of 2.5 MW, in the Aliağa Borough of Izmir, Turkey. The maximum power generation capacity of the turbines is 90 MW when fully operational. The project site rests on 145 hectares dispersed over three hills and is managed by Bergama RES Enerji Üretim. Annually, the site generates around 275,000 MWh of energy.

When developing the project, regional estimates targeted an 8% increase in energy demand annually from 2007-2013. The project assists in satisfying the augmenting demand by lowering energy cost and dependence on imported resources like natural gas and oil. Associated works such as wiring is performed by local companies to increase regional technological capacity in renewable energy projects while also stimulating the local economy from additional job opportunities related to operation.

This project provides families in Ghana with more efficient cookstoves that utilize less charcoal fuel than traditional “coal pot” stoves. Along with mitigating climate change, the reduction in charcoal production and cooking emissions also lessens exposure to indoor air pollutants and decreases exploitation of Ghana’s forests. The project also stimulates employment opportunities related to manufacturing, retailing, and maintaining the stoves.

The Gyapa Improved Cook-Stoves project in Ghana generates emissions reductions through replacement of traditional inefficient charcoal stoves (locally known as “coal-pots”) with improved stoves. Three sizes of stoves are available for distribution for an average savings of .25 kgs – 3.81 kgs of emissions per day of use through utilization of a heavily insulated combustion chamber fortified by a ceramic liner.

Benefits from implementation of this project increase needed levels of biodiversity in the region through reductions in the amount of wood and charcoal needed during daily activities. Where twenty years ago Ghana was home to 8.2 million hectares or high forest only 1.2 million hectares remain and wood-fuel consumption exceeds forest growth is responsible for 80% of domestic energy consumption.

With each stove distributed mothers and children will be exposed to fewer hazardous air pollutants through reduced emissions of carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter. Air pollution from traditional methods has been shown a key risk factor for childhood pneumonia as well as many other respiratory, cardiovascular, and ocular diseases. As social and economic drivers, the improved stoves give rise to employment opportunities for enterprises, manufacturing, distributing, retailing, and maintaining the stoves.

This project is reducing cooking emissions by producing and distributing more efficient cookstoves in Cambodia. By reducing the amount of fuel that is required, the new cookstoves also reduce pressure on forest resources. The project improves living conditions, particularly for women, by reducing their exposure to harmful pollutants and time spent collecting wood and cooking.

The objective of efficient cookstoves in Cambodia is to reduce fuel consumption through production and distribution of Lao cook stoves in nine provinces of Cambodia. Part of the larger Cambodian Firewood Saving Project (CFSP), this project avoids emissions from direct combustion while also protecting local forest ecosystems through increasing the efficiency of traditional wood-fuel stoves.

Ninety percent of the Cambodian population depend daily on fuel for cooking purposes. In addition to fuel conservation, the cookstoves emit less airborne particles like carbon monoxide to improve the living conditions of the users. Benefits have been shown to positively affect women more proportionally than men through decreasing ill health within the home, saving the time to collect fuel wood and cooking, and reducing the cost of purchased fuel. Additionally, economic opportunities are created through production distribution and management opportunities.