The role of innovation - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 206

laws on the topics for several years. 43 As direct government subsidies for
solar energy fade away, these sorts of mandates could be a powerful and
affordable means for local governments to help perpetuate solar energy
growth.
Other local policies, like the Klickitat County, Washington, energy
overlay zoning scheme described in the previous chapter, can facilitate
renewable energy development in locales where it is most welcome by
streamlining permit approvals and lowering regulatory hurdles. By sending
clear signals to developers and reducing the regulatory and transaction
costs, these low-cost policies can do much to accelerate the pace of wind
and solar energy installations in jurisdictions that adopt them.
In addition to the few examples just mentioned, there are undoubtedly
countless other policy improvements waiting to be discovered that are
capable of lending invaluable help to the global transition toward more
sustainable energy practices. In light of these opportunities, legal academics
and policymakers in the area of renewable energy should endeavor to
be as innovative as the engineers and developers, thinking creatively and
continually searching for ways to improve the legal structures that govern
this important industry.
A bright future
This topic has provided just one snapshot of the still-ledgling renewable
energy movement—a movement that is advancing at a frenetic pace but
still faces countless uncertainties and challenges. Within a few short years,
much of this topic will surely become outmoded as emerging technologies
continue to reshape the renewable energy industry and raise ever newer
legal questions and logistical problems. Meanwhile, there remains an
endless amount of work to be done to ensure that the planet makes full
productive use of the impressive clean energy technologies that are already
at its disposal. The earth has only a finite supply of non-renewable energy
reserves, and the realities of climate change are becoming more and more
apparent every year. In the face of these difficulties, humankind's long-term
well-being may hinge on whether we are diligent and persistent enough to
achieve the idyllic goal of true global energy sustainability.
Stalled progress in international climate change talks and the unrelenting
construction of coal-fired power plants in China and other developing
countries might justifiably cause some to doubt that worldwide sustainable
energy is even possible. Without question, more unforeseen hurdles will get
in the way of renewable energy development as it continues to spread across
the planet. Recent incidents involving the criminal dismantling of wind
turbines in the Philippines for their copper and other valuable materials
exemplify the sorts of unpredictable obstacles that could yet emerge as wind
and solar energy become ever more commonplace across the globe. 44
Nonetheless, there is great reason for optimism. Increasingly, individuals,