Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
economically harnessed in rural areas where low property values reduce sit-
ing costs. However, such rural sites are frequently geographically separated
from demand centers and in many cases, transmission of electricity from
wind farms to demand centers must traverse sections of the patchwork col-
lective grid that is owned by diferent entities. In the absence of laws which
provide for electricity grid easements, utilities can hinder wind power
from traversing grids to reach demand centers. To illustrate, Kansas pur-
portedly has the potential for 950 GW of wind power capacity. Assuming
wind system heights of 100 m and 35% or better capacity factors, this is
potentially enough to satisfy all current electricity demand in the United
States. However, as of the end of 2011, Kansas possessed only 1.3 GW of
wind generation capacity. he trouble is that there's not enough electricity
demand in Kansas to support wind power supply expansion, and for wind
power generated in Kansas to reach distant demand centers, it would have
to traverse grids owned by other T&D entities, which would not be keen
to accommodate transient transmissions of stochastic energy lows. To
put the scale of the problem into perspective, in 2006 the North American
Electric Reliability Corporation reported 1,901 transmission request deni-
als due to congestion.
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7.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY
7.5.1 Sociocultural
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Political
Broadly speaking, high levels of public support for wind power develop-
ment make it very diicult for politicians to oppose wind power, even at
the behest of lobbyists from fossil fuel special interests. According to the
American Wind Energy Association, nearly 9 of 10 voters (Republicans,
Democrats, and Independents) support wind power expansion. Wind power
appeals to advocates of enhanced domestic energy security and opponents
of nuclear energy and aligns with the majority view in the United States
that the United States should do more to abate greenhouse gas emissions.
Although there are still pockets of political resistance, as epitomized by
the letter of opposition from 47 House Republicans to John Boehner on
September 21, 2012, the rationale for opposition now stems generally from
concerns that wind power is being overly subsidized.
It is telling to note that renewable energy technologies, in general, and
wind power, in speciic, enjoy such broad public and political support that
the 2013 extension of the PTC was passed in a relatively noncontentious
manner, despite the heated political conlict over the government's iscal
clif that was transpiring at the same time. Even in times of iscal austerity,
