Environmental Law Commons^™

The Role Of Community Values In Wind Energy Development: Exploring The Benefits And Applications Of Community Wind For Reducing Local Opposition To Wind Energy Systems, Amanda Vaccaro

Georgetown Law Student Series

Worldwide, wind energy generation is growing rapidly as a cleaner and less invasive alternative to traditional fossil-fuel energy sources. Yet, in the United States, the advancement of wind energy has been stunted by three factors: (1) the uncertainty of the federal Production Tax Credit; (2) the lack of transmission lines connecting wind projects to electricity grids; and (3) enduring local cultural and aesthetic objections to wind turbines. Frustrated with the imbalanced allocation of costs and benefits imposed by most wind energy projects, some individuals and municipalities have deployed zoning laws, nuisance claims, or environmentalist arguments to discourage wind energy development …