Public understanding of and support for wind power in the United States

Wind power has been identified as the most cost-efficient form of alternative energy. Americans regularly read news stories about wind power and see newspaper advertisements urging the public to support wind power. Yet because large-scale wind power is relatively new, we do not know how much Americans understand about it or what they think about it.U.S. public opinion about wind power has been studied, but only superficially. The survey questions used to gauge public opinion about wind power are broad, and often combine wind power with solar power. Moreover, few surveys ask more than one or two questions about wind power.We analyze the results of a U.S. national internet survey, conducted in 2008, that was designed to study public opinion about wind power. We present evidence that the public's understanding of wind power is relatively poor. We show what positive and negative characteristics of wind power the public regards as important. We develop a model to explain public support for expanding wind power, and we discuss the implications for the future of the wind power industry.     

Wind power planning and permitting: Comparative perspectives from the Nordic countries

The purpose of this paper is to analyze and compare some important institutional and legal preconditions for wind power development in three Nordic countries: Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In the paper a number of historical, institutional and policy-related differences across these countries are highlighted, but most attention is paid to the various territorial planning procedures. The analysis suggests that although public economic support to wind power is necessary to promote its diffusion in the electricity system, similar policy instruments – in terms of both size and design – can induce significantly different developments depending on the legal preconditions for the location and environmental assessment of windmills. The success and failure stories of technology support policies can thus not easily be transferred across country borders. An important conclusion is that in comparison to Sweden the physical planning systems in both Denmark and Norway provide greater scope for implementing a national wind power policy at the local level. For instance, the Danish planning system is vertically integrated, and involves a designation of areas for wind power purposes in the local plans, while the municipalities in Sweden must in some way assent to (i.e., plan for) the establishment of windmills at a certain location in order for the installation to actually take place. Compared to its competitors, wind power is one of the power-generating technologies that tend to have the most to lose from the uncertainties created by planning regulations that leave much discretion to local authorities.     

Political and institutional analysis of the successes and failures of China’s wind power policy

This paper identifies and explains how political and institutional factors have determined the relative successes and failures of China’s wind power policy over the period 2005–2011. It finds that China has made significant progress in pursuing its wind power policy in terms of cumulative installed capacity, wind turbine manufacturing industry development and wind turbine cost, and argues that these achievements can be attributed to the political motives and institutional arrangements of the Chinese government as well as to institutional changes. On the other hand, the paper finds that there are two prominent policy failures, namely the low proportion of grid-connected capacity and the rising trend of wind turbine incidents. These have undermined the efficiency and effectiveness of China’s wind power program. The paper holds that the institutional sources for the first policy failure lies in the preference for setting wind power development targets in terms of installed capacity rather than generation and in coordination problems while the second policy failure lies in the lack of state technical codes for wind power integration and the unfair competition from the large state-owned power companies. The paper contributes to the academic literature on the political and institutional roles in China’s wind power policy.     

The relative importance of social and institutional conditions in the planning of wind power projects

Governments around the world try to stimulate the development and use of renewable energy technologies, like wind energy. While wind turbines are increasingly being implemented, however, a lack of social acceptance at the local level remains an important challenge for developers of wind power plants. This article aims to explore the relative importance of social and institutional conditions and their interdependencies in the operational process of planning wind power schemes. The article not only focuses on how negative local social conditions can frustrate public policy (cf. NIMBY syndrome), but also on how positive local social conditions can compensate for a negative public policy framework. We analyzed the cases of implementing wind power of two actors (the regional energy distributor and small private investors) in the municipality of Zeewolde, the Netherlands. Both cases illustrate that the formal institutional framework (formal rules, procedures and instruments) is neutral in a certain sense. Social conditions – management styles, interests and informal contacts – put meaning in this framework. The way stakeholders deal with the prevailing institutional structure clarifies social acceptance and therewith implementation.     

Public and private attitudes towards “green” electricity: the case of Swedish wind power

There exists a political goal in Sweden and elsewhere to increase the use of renewable energy and wind power seems to be a favourable choice from an environmental perspective. However, although the public generally expresses a positive attitude towards wind power, the experience often shows that specific wind power projects face resistance from the local population. This paper analyses the attitudes towards wind power among the electricity consumers as well as the foundations of these attitudes. Results are based on a postal survey that was sent out to 1000 Swedish house owners. According to the results, the public is generally positive towards wind power. The probability of finding an average individual in support of wind power decreases with age and income. People with an interest in environmental issues are, however, more likely to be positive towards wind power than the average respondent and the results do not support the NIMBY-hypothesis. In addition, people that are more inclined to express public preferences are also more likely to be positive towards wind electricity than people who are less inclined to do so. These results imply, for instance, that the potential of markets for “green” electricity may be limited, other support schemes is thus required if the politically stated goal to increase wind power capacity is to be fulfilled.     

Social barriers in wind power implementation in The Netherlands: Perceptions of wind power entrepreneurs and local civil servants of institutional and social conditions in realizing wind power projects

The primary social factors for the implementation of wind energy projects in a liberalized market are entrepreneurs willing to invest. Understanding conditions that trigger entrepreneurs to invest in these projects, and understanding conditions that determine the chance of success for entrepreneurs to implement and exploit their projects, is vital for setting up effective policies to stimulate wind electricity generation. This paper analyses the way in which wind power entrepreneurs and local civil servants experience social and institutional conditions in the operational process of realizing wind power projects, and their perceptions of policy implications. A groups support system in an electronic board room was used to analyze the perceptions. From the analysis it was concluded that wind power entrepreneurs and civil servants share the opinion that the institutionally embedded power position of local politicians, and the sensitiveness of the local political debate for the popular opinion are most critical for project realization. With regard to the proposed solutions, both groups differ in their approach. Entrepreneurs stress procedural solutions, such as limiting the possibilities to appeal, reducing the complexity of the formal authorization trajectory and using a top down planning approach. Civil servants stress more strategic solutions, such as providing more public information on the necessity of wind power for local politicians and citizens, and community involvement in planning processes. Finally, the analysis explains that steering strategies that have been developed at the national level to solve the planning problems at the operational level do not address the right problems.     

Winds of time: Lessons from Utö in the Stockholm Archipelago, 1990–2001

When investigating the success or failure of different wind power projects, it is essential to take into account how they were historically situated. This study focuses on attempts to develop wind power in an archipelago setting, at Utö in Sweden. It has been argued that the development of Swedish wind power slowed during the 1990s; by revisiting the early days of wind power, looking at resistance and support, and connecting success factors, this can be further investigated.Whereas earlier research pointed out institutional conditions and site-specific conditions as crucial for successful wind power development and acceptance, the picture can be made more complete by discussing how wind power projects are affected by time-specific historical conditions. In the case of Utö, these can partly be associated with a newly launched political support program that gave the project political legitimacy and added a “pioneering spirit” to the endeavor. Conversely, when wind power is not seen as “pioneering” or “experimental” any more, but as a mere industrial activity, other incentives may need to be offered to municipalities.     

Location of Swedish wind power—Random or not? A quantitative analysis of differences in installed wind power capacity across Swedish municipalities

The amount of installed wind power varies significantly across municipalities although the financial support for wind power production and the technology available is identical in all Swedish municipalities. This study analyses how local differences between municipalities, such as local wind prerequisites and socioeconomic conditions, might explain the establishment of wind power. The analysis is carried out for a cross section of Swedish municipalities. The time periods before and after 2006 are analyzed separately; and results reveal that the factors affecting wind power establishments are different between the two periods. In the later time period we found a statistically significant positive relationship between good wind resources and the presence of wind power as well as with the amount of wind energy installed. This result is consistent with the idea that the first wind power investments in Sweden were highly affected by individual wind energy enthusiasts, while in the more recent large-scale investments market-based judgments about future profitability may have become increasingly important. In addition, previous experience seems to be a factor that in itself facilitates additional future wind power establishments, thereby pointing to the role of accumulated institutional capacity.     

The predominance of economic development in the support for large-scale wind farms in the U.S. Great Plains

Wind energy is one of the fastest growing sources of power generation in the world. While general public and political support for wind energy is often high, siting wind farms frequently raises concerns in local communities, and individual projects often fail because of effective public opposition. This paper presents the results of a postal and online survey questionnaire that explores public perceptions of wind energy in two of the most important states for wind development, Texas and Iowa. The goal is a better understanding of public reactions to large-scale wind developments as a prerequisite of more widespread use of renewable energy resources. We found a high level of public support for wind energy, with more than two-thirds of respondents being in favor of building more wind farms either in their community or within the U.S. as a whole. Given that the majority of respondents had a very high level of concern for the general environment, we also found that almost two-thirds of respondents counter-intuitively indicated that producing electricity using fossil fuels is not detrimental to the environment, and that they had little concern for global climate change. Our results suggest that arguing for more renewable sources of energy based on reducing our carbon footprint is less persuasive in these communities than simply approaching it from the perspective of wind being a clean and safe source of energy. More than two-thirds of respondents felt their county had benefited economically from the wind farms and that they were a source of job creation in the county. Support for wind power in these communities is associated far more with socioeconomic factors than foundational aesthetic or moral values, with wind farms perceived as the vehicle that will reverse economic decline.     

Wind power implementation: The nature of public attitudes: Equity and fairness instead of ‘backyard motives’

Public attitudes anywhere in Europe show moderate to strong support for the implementation of renewable energy. Nevertheless, planning wind power developments appears to be a complicated matter in most countries. The problems that have to be dealt with during decision making processes on the siting of wind turbines are usually referred to as mere ‘communication problems’. However, public attitudes towards wind power are fundamentally different from attitudes towards wind farms. This ‘gap’ causes misunderstandings about the nature of public support for renewables. In particular where planners easily assume support for renewables can be generated by information campaigns emphasising the environmental benefits, whereas opposition to renewable energy schemes can be explained by a selfish ‘not in my backyard’ attitude. Both explanations used by planners, authorities and, unfortunately, by many scholars, are falsified. Furthermore, policies that still take this ‘common knowledge’ for granted can have negative consequences for the implementation rates of renewables. Visual evaluation of the impact of wind power on landscape values is by far the dominant factor in explaining why some are opposed to wind power and others are supporting it. Moreover, feelings about equity and fairness appear the determinants of ‘backyard’ motives, instead of selfishness.     

To what extent does wind power deployment affect vested interests? A case study of the Northeast China Grid

China's wind power is in an embarrassing state. Along with its dramatic development since 2005, its curtailment ratio has been rising. Although this could be attributed to both physical and institutional factors, it is the institutional obstacles, mainly resulting from the adjustment difficulties of interests distribution, that have exercised a greater impact. The stakeholders relating to wind power integration are thermal power companies, grid companies and local governments. The extent to which wind power deployment affects these vested interests determines the core institutional obstacles to be addressed. Mainly based on quantitative and case analyses, we argue that currently wind deployment in China has a little impact on the interests of thermal companies, moderate impact on the interests of grid companies and great impact on local governments. We recommend that it is crucial to elevate the role of environmental protection and renewable energy increase while de-emphasize the role of economic growth in the evaluation of local governments’ performance, as well as provide incentives for grid companies to attend more to their social responsibilities rather than their scale expansion and revenue growth.     

Policies and design elements for the repowering of wind farms: A qualitative analysis of different options

Repowering of a wind farm is the process of replacing existing wind turbines with new turbines that either have a larger nameplate capacity or more efficiency, resulting in a net increase of the power generated. Although repowering brings, both, social and private benefits, there are also several obstacles to repowering which justify public support. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview and a qualitative analysis of instruments and design options to support repowering of on-shore wind farms. The multicriteria analysis carried out in this paper shows that all instruments have their advantages and drawbacks. However, feed-in tariffs and investment subsidies seem to be particularly appropriate instruments in this regard. Furthermore, we provide an assessment of different design options to promote repowering according to key assessment criteria. The relevance of design elements hinges on the fact that these are the ones directly affecting the variables that are relevant in the decision to repower (capacity factors and investment costs).     

A computational fluid dynamics approach to wind prospecting: Lessons from the U.S. Appalachian region

A number of technological, institutional and market developments have lowered the minimally economic viable wind speeds for wind power generation while contributing to increasing profitability of the wind power industry in recent decades. Yet, information on the potential for wind power generation is still highly uncertain in many regions of the globe, particularly those with complex terrain features. We focus on an area by the foothills of the Appalachian region. Because we do not have precise wind measurements for this area, we do not attempt to produce an actual wind map, but instead use a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model to demonstrate the calculation of high resolution wind speeds with complex terrain information. Using this approach, we show how finer wind speed information can impact the status of an overlooked region in terms of its wind potential and improve wind prospecting by enabling investors to focus on the most promising sub-regions of a study area. Since private sector investors might not have the incentive to invest in finer-scale wind resource assessment that can be easily observed by competitors, public sector incentives or direct investments can help to promote wind power generation in overlooked but viable regions.     

Intention to respond to local wind turbines: the role of attitudes and visual perception

Wind power projects frequently face public opposition during the siting process. A deeper understanding of social factors has therefore been called for. Based on psychological theories, the present research was initiated in order to study the relative importance of individual aspects related to visual perception and attitudinal factors in public intention to oppose local wind turbines. In an empirical study, 80 people assessed the visual characteristics of wind turbines on site and rated their emotional state. They also completed a questionnaire covering attitudes towards the turbines, perception of significant others' opinions of local wind turbines, and perceived possibilities to oppose as well as intention to oppose local turbines. Moreover, socio‐demographics, factors related to the place of residence and general attitude towards wind power, were investigated. In a multiple regression analysis explaining 50% of the variance, it was found that intention to oppose was related to only a few perceptual and attitudinal factors, i.e. the perceived unity of the environment, the personal attitude towards the effects of wind turbines on landscape aesthetics and recreation, and the general attitude towards wind power. Of minor importance was the attitude towards the effects of wind turbines on people's daily quality of life. It seems important to involve the public in the discussion of how wind power installations can be integrated into the landscape without threatening the visual beauty and the recreational value of the natural and cultural environment. Moreover, social intervention is required to promote positive attitudes towards wind turbines. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Implementation of wind energy in the Netherlands: the importance of the social–institutional setting

This paper analyses the differences in performance of the different types of wind power entrepreneurs now active on the wind power supply market in the Netherlands. The development of the market is divided into three successive market periods: Monopoly powers (1989–1995), Interbellum (1996–1997) and Free market (1998–2002). For each of these periods, the interdependency between various systemic conditions—technical, economic, institutional and social conditions—is analysed, with the focus on the relative importance of the institutional and social settings for market development. This interdependency is analysed using the implementation capacity concept. Implementation capacity is defined as the total of those systemic conditions and mutual interdependencies that influence the behaviour of wind power entrepreneurs. It indicates the feasibility for wind power entrepreneurs to adopt wind turbines. From the analysis it was concluded that no overall implementation capacity exists, and implementation capacities differ for entrepreneurial groups with different entrepreneurial features. With respect to the relative importance of institutional and social conditions, it became clear, that it is mainly these conditions that differentiate between the various entrepreneurial groups. The dynamic configuration of institutional and social conditions facilitates some and hinders other types of wind power entrepreneurs, and as a result determines the development and composition of the market. Finally, the analysis explains the changing roles of entrepreneurial groups throughout the 1990s.     

The effectiveness of different policy regimes for promoting wind power: Experiences from the states

Governments at the state (and to a lesser extent, local) level in the United States have adopted an array of policies to promote wind and other types of “green” energy, including solar, geothermal, low-impact hydropower, and certain forms of biomass. However, because of different regulatory environments, energy resource endowments, political interests, and other factors, there is considerable variation among the states in their green power policies. This paper analyzes the contribution to wind power development of several state-level policies (renewable portfolio standards (RPS), fuel generation disclosure rules, mandatory green power options, and public benefits funds), along with retail choice (RET) facilitated by electricity restructuring. The empirical results support existing anecdotal and case studies in finding a positive relationship between RPS and wind power development. We also found that requiring electricity suppliers to provide green power options to customers is positively related to development of wind energy, while there is a negative relationship between wind energy development and RET (i.e., allowing retail customers to choose their electricity source).     

A review on reliability assessment for wind power

The application of wind energy in electric power systems is growing rapidly due to enhanced public concerns to adverse environmental impacts and escalation in energy costs associated with the use of conventional energy sources. Electric power from wind energy is quite different from that of conventional resources. The fundamental difference is that the wind power is intermittent and uncertain. Therefore, it affects the reliability of power system in a different manner from that of the conventional generators. This paper, from available literatures, presents the model of wind farms and the methods of wind speed parameters assessment. Two main categories of methods for evaluating the wind power reliability contribution, i.e., the analytical method and the Monte Carlo simulation method have been reviewed. This paper also summarizes factors affecting the reliability of wind power system, such as wake effect, correlation of output power for different windturbines, effect of windturbine parameters, penetration and environment. An example has been used to illustrate how these factors affect the reliability of wind power system. Finally, mainstream reliability indices for evaluating reliability are introduced. Among these reliability indices, some are recently developed, such as wind generation interrupted energy benefit (WGIEB), wind generation interruption cost benefit (WGICB), Equivalent Capacity Rate (ECR), load carrying capacity benefit ratio (LCCBR).     

Why we still don’t understand the social aspects of wind power: A critique of key assumptions within the literature

The literature on public attitudes to wind power is underpinned by key assumptions which limit its scope and restrict the findings it can present. Five key assumptions are that: (1) The majority of the public supports wind power. (2) Opposition to wind power is therefore deviant. (3) Opponents are ignorant or misinformed. (4) The reason for understanding opposition is to overcome it. (5) Trust is key. The paper calls for critical reflection on each of these assumptions. It should not be assumed that opposition to wind power is deviant/illegitimate. Opposition cannot be dismissed as ignorant or misinformed instead it must be acknowledged that objectors are often very knowledgeable. Public attitudes and responses to wind power should not be examined in order to mitigate potential future opposition, but rather in order to understand the social context of renewable energy. Trust is identified as a key issue, however greater trust must be placed in members of the public and in their knowledge. In sum, the literature must abandon the assumption that it knows who is ‘right’ and instead must engage with the possibility that objectors to wind power are not always ‘wrong’.     

Factors in determining wind farm location: Integrating GQM,fuzzy DEMATEL,and ANP

Wind power has become one of the most popular sources of renewable energy, and various countries have increased their use of wind turbines because of turbines' rapid and relatively simple installation. This study examines the key factors considered in determining the location of wind farms. The following six dimensions are used to measure the correlations among the relevant factors: Safety and Quality, Economy and Benefit, Social Impression, Environment and Ecology, Regulation, and Policy. These factors are associated with a total of 28 evaluation criteria. The Decision Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) and Analytic Network Process (ANP) approaches are applied to find the correlations among the dimensions and the relative weights of the criteria, respectively. The results show that Safety and Quality and Environment and Ecology are the two major factors. The results of this work can increase public understanding of wind power and can be used as a reference for businesses and governments that intend to invest in the development of such power.     

Wind power price trends in the United States: Struggling to remain competitive in the face of strong growth

The amount of wind power capacity being installed globally is surging, with the United States the world leader in terms of annual market share for three years running (2005–2007). The rapidly growing market for wind has been a double-edged sword, however, as the resulting supply-demand imbalance in wind turbines, along with the rising cost of materials and weakness in the US dollar, has put upward pressure on wind turbine costs, and ultimately, wind power prices. Two mitigating factors–reductions in the cost of equity provided to wind projects and improvements in project-level capacity factors–have helped to relieve some of the upward pressure on wind power prices over the last few years. Because neither of these two factors can be relied upon to further cushion the blow going forward, policymakers should recognize that continued financial support may be necessary to sustain the wind sector at its current pace of development, at least in the near term. Though this article emphasizes developments in the US market for wind power, those trends are similar to, and hold implications for, the worldwide wind power market.