Five billion gallons of water have been saved by Mower County Minnesota (pop 39,327) since 2003 due to wind power according to an analysis by Fresh Energy. Freeborn County Minnesota (pop 31,000) has saved more than one billion gallons of water since 2010 from their wind energy use. This is based on traditional coal generation use of 541 gallons of water for every Megawatt hour of energy. The amount will vary with the type of plant. A River Network Report shows that energy generation from coal withdraws approximately 16,000 gallons and consumes 692 gallons of water for every Megawatt hour of electricity produced. By contrast, wind energy generation consumes 60 gallons per Megawatt hour. See Source, Fresh Energy release, and AWEA