Economic and legal principles in renewable energy development policy - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 10

to distinguish costs and benefits affected by the specific location and layout
of a proposed project from those costs and benefits that are largely uninflu-
enced by the nature or location of the project site.
Consider, for instance, the benefits that can accrue to wind turbine or
solar PV manufacturers in connection with a large renewable energy project.
These parties can have a substantial financial interest in the successful
development of a proposed major wind farm or solar PV installation. If the
project receives approval and proceeds, the manufacturer will sell valuable
inventory and generate income. However, such parties' interests deserve
relatively little weight in renewable energy siting decisions because they are
rarely site-dependent. A wind turbine manufacturer receives roughly the
same net profit for each turbine it sells and is thus likely to provide about
the same level of support for any wind energy project that would use its
turbines, regardless of the project's location. The potential gains to these
manufacturers are often at least partly accounted for in their sale negotia-
tions with developers.
Likewise, the potential losses to large coal and natural gas companies
from reductions in product demand caused by renewable energy projects
typically are not site-specific either. Their opposition to particular projects
thus arguably also warrants somewhat less local government attention
in project siting decisions. Consideration of the interests of these sorts of
non-site-specific stakeholders, listed in the left column of Table 1.1 , seems
more appropriate in the context of national policymaking than in local
siting analyses.
In contrast, the interests of many other non-developer stakeholders are
very site-specific and thus highly relevant in the renewable energy siting
process. For instance, the potential impacts of a proposed wind farm on
neighboring landowners or on local wildlife species deserve comparatively
more consideration in siting decisions than the impacts on the manufacturer
that would supply the turbines. The same is true for indigenous groups

Table 1.1 Types of non-developer stakeholders in renewable energy projects
Stakeholders with non-site-specific
interests

Stakeholders with site-specific interests

Turbine or PV manufacturers Neighbors

Fossil fuel producers Conservation groups

Renewable energy advocates Wildlife advocacy groups

Local indigenous groups

Historic preservation advocates

Local utility companies