Wind Power Continues to Take Flight, but can it Ultimately Succeed?
Alternative energy is one of the more trendy phrases in today’s culture, and with ever increasing gas prices, it is a trend not likely to fade anytime soon. Politicians, celebrities, and even the media encourage people to “go green” in an effort to decrease carbon emissions. One of the increasingly popular forms of alternative energy is the use of wind energy. However, wind energy has come to the forefront of an irony that plagues the alternative energy movement. With increasing use of wind energy has come increased environmental opposition to its use.1
While wind energy today accounts for less than 1 percent of America’s electricity, experts recently estimated that wind energy could generate as much as 20 percent of the nation’s electricity by 2030. The 20 percent production level comes from an 18-month collaborative report between the Energy Department research labs and industry. The report noted that “the United States possesses abundant wind resources” and that wind energy production jumped 45 percent last year alone.2 Additionally, large-scale wind farm projects have begun to sprout up across the nation, particularly in the Great Lakes region, and could help wind energy grow dramatically. Three separate plans on Lake Michigan propose between 200 and 610 wind turbines in the lake. These and other proposals across the nation could help the U.S. achieve the 20 percent production level cited by the Energy Department report.
Despite the intent to increase wind energy, the realistic ability to do so may not be as easy as one thinks. Wind farms face a dilemma similar to prisons; everyone agrees they are a good idea as long as they are not in their own backyard. Wind power electric generating facilities are a hot topic in many municipalities, from towns in upstate New York to the California coast, as local governments listen to arguments among their citizenry debating whether to place the wind turbines (ranging from 200 to 450 feet tall) near the property of local landowners, and whether it may be necessary to exercise the government’s eminent domain power to take the property on which the turbines will be constructed. A number of state legislatures (including California, Colorado, Connecticut, and Nevada) have also taken steps to preempt the local towns’ regulation of wind and solar power devices and zoning.
A rash of litigation over the planning and construction of wind farms is spreading throughout numerous states. The irony is that environmental groups are opposing the wind farms, claiming various adverse impacts on local habitats. One of the more significant decisions on this topic came from the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia, which held that such wind farms could constitute a nuisance if the landowners could prove the adverse impacts. See Burch v. Nedpower Mount Storm, LLC, 647 S.E.2d 879 (W.Va 2007).
Beyond the nuisance and takings issues, opponents of the wind farms attempt to play the role of environmentalist, citing the necessary clearing of land for the construction of the farms, as well as the impact on birds, bats, and beneficial insects.3 Others point to the noise pollution and shadow flicker (or strobe light effect), and the danger of broken blades, ice throws, and collapsing towers.
It’s difficult to miss the irony of landowners using environmental arguments to thwart alternative energy generation, which has been so heavily pushed by politicians in the name of the environment. In the case of Brander v. Town of Warren Town Board, 847 N.Y.S.2d 450 (N.Y.Sup.Ct. 2007), the court annulled special use permits authorized by the town, holding the town failed to evaluate possible alternatives to the proposed size and layout of the wind farm in its environmental impact study.
The t-shirts worn by protesters of a decision by the Fayette County, Pennsylvania commissioners to intervene in a lawsuit concerning a proposed wind turbine project sum up the apparent environmental contradiction: “Fayette TNT, Trees Not Turbines.”
At the end of the day, experts are telling everyone of wind’s potential use over the next couple of decades. However, as long as individuals and alleged environmental groups oppose the construction of wind farms, high use of wind energy will remain impossible and prevent development of its widespread use in the United States.
2 Wind technology abroad also offers a promising glimpse into the future of wind power in the United States. Developers of the Bahrain World Trade Center in Manama placed three giant wind turbines between two towers and hope that the turbines will provide 15 percent of the center’s energy. Similar projects are set for London and Dubai.
3 Ranch lands in Texas, which is currently the largest producer of wind energy in the United States, are facing opposition to wind farms from other ranchers. The King Ranch, the largest ranch in Texas, filed a lawsuit against the neighboring Kennedy Ranch to prevent construction of a wind farm. The King Ranch argues the large turbines will kill migratory birds, as well as cause an eyesore.