Wind Power vs. Property Rights: Who Wins?

Contention between land owners and energy companies continues to flare up as siting issues and "not in my back yard" (NIMBY) groups stall renewable energy projects. Individual landowners and renewable energy companies are struggling to find a way to build towering wind turbines and transmission lines without consent from nearby landowners.

Recent Losses by Wind Power

Earlier this month, the North Carolina passed a ban on wind turbine construction on mountain tops. According to George Everett, a lobbyist from Duke Energy, North Carolina is an unattractive location for wind projects without mountaintop wind turbines.

Last month, the Northern Laramie Range Alliance's efforts to prevent transmission lines from being built across mountain ridges in Wyoming resulted in a formal retraction from energy company Rocky Mountain Power. The group, which is headed by World Bank Treasurer and Wyoming ranch owner Kenneth G. Lay, is currently working to stymie the efforts of Wasatch Wind in their area. In a recent article by the Associated Press, Lay was quoted as saying that "there needs to be a responsible siting process that is going to balance a lot of interests that everybody has... it is not appropriate for one or two big landowners to essentially dictate what is going to happen to everybody else's property."

Wind Energy Fights for Development Rights

The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), in association with Wind on the Wires (WOW), filed protests with the Federal Energy and Regulatory Commission regarding a proposal in Midwest states that would limit the development of future wind projects.

The proposed policy change would require new power plants to cover 100% of the cost of interfacing with the grid. AWEA states that this would make renewable energy generation in the Midwest virtually impossible, and likened it to forcing the owner of a new car to pay for an entire lane of freeway by themselves.

Under current policy, infrastructure costs are subsidized and distributed across the statewide energy industry. AWEA states that putting the full cost of connecting to the infrastructure on wind power generators is unfair, and proposes that all generators pay for infrastructure projects, even if they gain no benefit from it.

Visit the AWEA's website to learn more about their fight to develop the "Saudi Arabia of Wind."