The federal states and their communities can benefit on a large-scale from the use of renewable energies, which induce important local benefits due to their decentralized structure. The model developed by the Institute for Ecological Economy Research is the first to quantify generated effects of value added and employment on a local, regional and countrywide scale. Net value added is calculated as the sum of three components: tax revenues, company profits and wages, which are generated by the involved agents along the value chains of the examined 29 technologies. A comparison of value added and employment effects by wind power between the states of Baden-Württemberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Brandenburg reveals the competitive advantages of each federal state in the value chain. Furthermore, the analysis shows that value added and employment from wind energy can be generated in various ways. Regional policies can help exploit the competitive advantages of the federal states but also aim to diversify local industries to participate and compete in multiple steps of the value chain.