Wind farms vs. neighbors - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 41

Despite the wide range of conflicts between wind energy projects and
neighbors described in this chapter, wind energy's future is not inevitably
clouded with one neighbor dispute after another. Local, regional, and
national governments throughout the world have crafted a wide variety of
laws to address these conflicts. As will be exemplified by the wind energy
project described in Chapter 8 , successful development in the face of
obstacles and challenges is often possible through thoughtful policymaking
and diligent developer effort.
Notes
1 Global Wind Report 2011 , Global Wind Energy Council (2012), available at
www.gwec.net/publications/global-wind-report-2/ (last visited Feb. 24, 2014).
2 According to the Global Wind Energy Council, more than 41 GW of wind
energy generating capacity were added worldwide in 2011. Less than 40 GW
of cumulative capacity had been installed across the globe as of 2003. See id.
3 See Sarah Azau, Nurturing Public Acceptance , Wind Directions 30 (September
2011), available at www.ewea.org/ileadmin/emag/winddirections/2011-09/
pdf/WD_September_2011.pdf (last visited June 14, 2012) (citing a study
available at http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm (last visited June
14, 2012).
4 See The Saint Index: United States, 2011 (2011), available at http://saintindex.
info/special-report-energy#windfarms (last visited June 14, 2012).
5 Wind Energy FAQ , European Wind Energy Association, available at www.
ewea.org/index.php?id=1884 (cited in Azau, Nurturing Public Acceptance ,
Wind Directions 34 (September 2011)).
6 Azau, Nurturing Public Acceptance , Wind Directions 30 (September 2011).
7 Clifford Krauss, Move Over, Oil, There's Money in Texas Wind , New York
Times A1 (Feb. 23, 2008) (cited in Susan Lorde Martin, Wind Farms and
NIMBYs: Generating Conflict, Reducing Litigation , 20 Fordham Envtl. L.
Rev. 427, 445 (2010)).
8 See, e.g. , Martin D. Heintzelman & Carrie M. Tuttle, A Hedonic Analysis of
Wind Power Facilities , 88 Land Econ 571 (2012) (finding that wind turbine
installations studied generally had some measurable adverse impact on the
market value of nearby homes). It should be noted that, although there is
evidence that some individuals find homes situated near wind farms to be
less desirable, much of the research to date on wind energy development's
impact on nearby property values has been inconclusive. For a relatively recent
summary of this research, see Susan Lorde Martin (2010) at 448-49.
9 At least one other writer has described the seeming unfairness of wind energy
development from the perspective of neighbors who are excluded from the
project. See, e.g. , Susan Lorde Martin (2010) at 464-65.
10 See GE Energy, Wind Turbine Facts at 3 (2009), available at www.ge-energy.
com/content/multimedia/_iles/downloads/wind_energy_basics.pdf (last visited
June 17, 2013) (noting that the “tip height” for a GE 1.5 MW turbine is about
394 feet but that larger onshore turbines can have tip heights of up to 492 feet).
11 Bent Ole Gram Mortensen, International Experiences of Wind Energy , 2
Envtl. & Energy L. & Pol'y J. 179, 190-91 (2008).
12 Scottish National Heritage, Siting and Designing Windfarms in the Landscape
9 (2009), available at www.snh.gov.uk/publications-data-and-research/public
ations/search-the-catalogue/publication-detail/?id=1434 (last visited June 18,