Wind farms vs. neighbors - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 20

wind projects in Europe were “stopped due to lawsuits and public
resistance.” 6 In many cases, the chief opponents of wind farms are
individuals and companies that own or use land near the development site.
Some of this local resistance is surely attributable to a generalized fear of
the unknown—a generic “NIMBY” or “Not in My Back Yard” mentality
that interferes with nearly every type of development at one time or another.
However, in many instances the concerns of neighbors in the context of
wind farm development are valid or at least worthy of being heard. As
described in Chapter 1 , many of the benefits of wind energy development
accrue broadly to humankind throughout the world, while the social costs
of wind farms often fall disproportionately upon those living next door
to these massive projects. At least some of the local resistance that wind
projects face seeks to compel developers and policymakers to consider and
account for this inequitable distribution of benefits and costs during the
development process. Experienced wind energy developers are well aware
that the concerns of local residents must be heard, managed, and appropri-
ately addressed for a project to succeed.
What are the greatest sources of local opposition to wind farms? And
how can developers and policymakers address these sources of resistance
and enable the continued growth of wind energy while still showing due
regard for the rights of those living nearby? This chapter examines a
laundry list of common conflicts between utility-scale wind energy projects
and the activities of those living and working in their vicinities. Wind energy
developers who educate themselves about these conflicts and learn to antic-
ipate them in the early stages of a project can potentially avoid significant
obstacles as the project proceeds. Policymakers who become familiar with
these issues and enact statutes or ordinances to effectively govern them can
reduce legal uncertainty and other unnecessary barriers to wind energy
development within their jurisdictions.
Wind farms as economic dividers
Wind farms bring new money into rural areas, and this money is rarely
distributed evenly among the local populace. This potential for a large
infusion of money is generally viewed as a wonderful thing, but it can also
be a source of tension and ultimately an obstacle to a proposed wind farm's
success.
A newly proposed wind energy project can be particularly threatening
to some rural dwellers because of its potential to create a new dynamic of
“haves” and “have-nots” within their tight-knit community. Utility-scale
wind farms are most frequently sited of of the beaten path and away from
the big city. Because large-scale developments of any kind rarely occur in
such rural areas, news of a potential wind farm tends to spread quickly
among locals. Typically, some of these local residents will favor the project
and some will not.