Frequently Asked Questions

Desert Vine Wind is a 175 MW wind energy project located approximately 6 miles northwest of Willcox in Cochise County, AZ. The project will interconnect onto AEPCO’s network to help power the local region. Respsol Renewables North America currently anticipates needing up to 39 turbines for the project; however, the final number will depend on the size of the turbines ultimately chosen for the project.

The Desert Vine Wind Project has been under consideration by Repsol Renewables North America since 2020 and is still early in the project development phase. Since then, the developer has been diligently studying the environmental resources within the area, collecting wind data from three separate data collection devices, and having preliminary discussions with potential landowners and members of the community.

The Desert Vine Wind Project will provide numerous benefits to all of Cochise County. Desert Vine Wind represents a total capital investment of up to $380 million, which will result in a significant increase in the County’s taxable property base. The project will benefit the County by generating approximately $25.8 million in new property tax revenues while also creating jobs and increasing demand for local businesses.

During construction, the Desert Vine Wind Project will contribute more than $375,000 in sales tax revenue to Cochise County while supporting up to 190 construction jobs during peak construction. These construction workers will drive local economic development through increased demand for supply chain businesses, hospitality services, equipment rentals, and other local businesses. Once operational, the project will generate up to 6 permanent jobs, which provide well-paying opportunities for families to work and remain in the communities surrounding the project.

The Desert Vine Wind Project will be located entirely on State-owned land currently managed for cattle grazing. The area of study shown on the project map will be shrink-wrapped around the project design; it is anticipated that project infrastructure will occupy a few hundred acres, or less than 5% of the area shown. Given the minimal footprint associated with wind energy projects, grazing is a compatible land use that may continue throughout project operations. The temporary disturbance areas will be restored after construction, and the permanent areas will be restored at the end of the project’s operational life of approximately 35 years.

Yes. Wind energy is a low-cost resource that is competitive with conventional energy sources.¹ The cost of wind energy has declined by 40% over the last decade,² and with improved technology and U.S.-based manufacturing, wind energy is “cost competitive with other energy sources and the cheapest source of new electricity in many most markets.”³

No. The majority of peer-reviewed studies on the subject has found that wind turbines have statistically insignificant long-term impacts on the value of neighboring residential and agricultural properties in the United States.

• The U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab collected data from more than 50,000 home sales among 27 counties in nine states. These homes were within 10 miles of 67 different wind facilities, and 1,198 sales were within one mile of a wind turbine. The data span the periods well before announcement of the wind facilities to well after their construction. The research found no statistical evidence that home values near turbines were affected in the post-construction or post-announcement/preconstruction periods.⁴
• A study from the Department of Agriculture Economics at Kansas State University analyzed parcel-level transaction data from 2001 through 2017 in Kansas and found that utility-scale wind turbines have no statistically significant impact on agricultural land values, on both properties hosting turbines and those nearby.⁵
• The U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Lab analyzed over 1.8 million property transactions across 27 counties in nine U.S. states, focusing on the impact of wind energy development on property values. The researchers found that properties experienced a slight decrease following the announcement of a new commercial project, followed by an increase in home prices after commencement of project operations.⁶

Wind projects drive economic development in counties, especially rural ones. In fact, Brunner and Schwegman (2022) find that wind projects may benefit counties as a whole by increasing the size of the local economy, median household income, and median home values; they also find that rural communities experience greater economic benefits from wind installations than urban communities. Furthermore, the Lava Run Wind Project is expected to contribute significantly to Apache County’s economy through sales and property tax revenues, state land rent payments, and the Community Benefits Program.

Less than 5% of a wind project area is occupied by project infrastructure, leaving over 95% available for current land use to continue during project operations. For the safety of all parties, few areas may be fenced, including the project substations and the on-site operations and maintenance building.

The project will be designed and constructed to have an expected minimum useful life of 35 years.

Repsol Renewables is responsible for the decommissioning and removal of project infrastructure, as well as site restoration, at the end of the Project’s life. During the Special Use Permit process, Cochise County requires a Decommissioning & Restoration Plan be put in place, outlining the various ways in which the project owner will safely and responsibly remove installed equipment and restore the property within the project area. In addition, financial securities equal to the cost of decommissioning will be required prior to construction to ensure Cochise County will bear no financial responsibility for decommissioning or restoration. The financial assurance will be updated at least every five years to ensure an accurate estimation of costs, adjusted for inflation.

Up to 94% of a wind turbine is recyclable today, as they are mostly made of steel, copper, aluminum, and iron.⁷ The composite materials (fiberglass, epoxy resin) in wind turbine blades have made recycling these more challenging; however, the industry has made great strides towards blade recycling options, which will continue to increase the percentage of total recyclable material in wind turbines, including developing more easily recyclable blades⁸ and redirecting blades as an input into thermal electricity generation or into industrial processes like cement production.⁹ The industry is confident that these and other recycling and repurposing technologies will continue to advance and increase the percentage of recyclable material in wind turbines by the time that our project is fully decommissioned.