Research Brief. ELI Catches the Wind

• Author: Elissa Parker
• Position: Vice President Research and Policy
• Pages: 55-55

MAY/JUNE 2011 ❧ Page 55

Copyright © 2011, Environmental Law Institute®, Washington, D.C. www.eli.org.

Reprinted by permission from The Environmental Forum®, May/June 2011

ELI Report

choices.” Before tackling

wind energy, we have identi-

f‌ied ways in which state and

local decisions can provide

for af‌fordable housing, con-

servation, and f‌iscal health;

evaluated state and local tax

policy alternatives that can

support sustainable land

use; and identif‌ied ef‌fective

policy reforms that align

state and federal funding for

infrastructure.

Jim’s program is now

putting these same ap-

proaches to work in advanc-

ing the U.S. transition to

wind. With a unique focus

on how projects are sited

— consistent with state

and local land and water

and biodiversity objectives

— the program aims to

improve the laws that inf‌lu-

ence the ability to site wind

facilities both on land and

in state and federal waters.

With support from the Wal-

lace Global Fund, the U.S.

Department of Energy, the

American Planning Associa-

tion, several state agencies,

and the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Admin-

istration, Jim and his team

have produced substantial

results that will help states

and local governments make

the changes they need to

establish consistent frame-

works.

Because jurisdiction over

siting is so dif‌fuse across

the United States, rigorous

attention to siting laws and

rules is critical. Half the

states leave siting of wind

projects entirely to their

local governments, while

many others have mixed

state-local approval systems,

often with overlapping re-

sponsibilities. While state

and local standards can seri-

ously af‌fect the ability to site

new wind projects, useful

information for comparison

and best practices has not

been readily available.

Jim’s work closes that

gap. A new ELI report,

State Enabling Legisla-

tion for Commercial Scale

Wind Power Siting and

the Local Government

Role, is a comprehensive

review of all the state wind

power siting laws, including

those enabling local govern-

ments. Jim notes that it also

provides the all important

model laws and approaches

that legislatures can use to

address specif‌ic concerns

related to jurisdiction over

wind power siting. “We

focused specif‌ic attention

on issues of concern, such

as requirements for setbacks

of wind facilities from other

land uses, and decommis-

sioning requirements.”

Great Lakes waters, state

trust lands, and other state-

owned lands of‌fer signif‌i-

cant potential opportunities

for commercial-scale wind

facilities, but require consid-

eration of important trade-

of‌fs. Jim’s team undertook

a comprehensive review of

state approaches and exist-

ing projects on these lands.

eir report, Siting Wind

Facilities on State-Owned

Lands and Waters, recom-

mends that states inventory

their lands, and reevaluate

and revise their land leasing

and planning regimes to

accommodate the particu-

lar needs of wind facilities,

including the length of lease

terms, requirements for

decommissioning, and ap-

propriate monitoring and

management requirements.

Jim also continues to

work directly with mid-At-

lantic state coastal programs

to identify state laws and

regulations that may af‌fect

their ability to site of‌fshore

wind facilities in federal and

state waters, and has issued

several reports, available on

ELI’s website. In addition

to a study in Virginia, Jim is

also working with Maryland

and Delaware as they ex-

amine such issues as how to

site and permit transmission

line crossing through state

waters and beneath beaches

and coastal wetlands.

“Development of wind

power is essential if we are

to transform our energy

economy. And while all

energy sources involve en-

vironmental impacts and

tradeof‌fs, wind energy is the

one major source of electric

power generation available

at utility scale that does not

place demands on water

supplies,” Jim says. “It’s

critical to get these state and

local siting laws right.”

e United States is the

world leader in wind energy,

passing China, Germany,

Spain, and others usually

regarded as world leaders.

ere is a realistic possibil-

ity that the United States

can generate more than

20 percent of its electricity

from wind within the next

two decades. But meeting

or exceeding this goal will

require attention to numer-

ous factors — including the

transmission grid, energy

pricing, renewable energy

portfolio standards, and tax

and investment incentives.

It will also require a

thorough re-examination of

the state laws and local ordi-

nances that govern the siting

of wind facilities, argues

ELI Senior Attorney James

McElf‌ish. “State and local

siting regulations and land

use issues will play a major

role in determining whether

wind power will rapidly

become a larger part of our

energy mix. Many state laws

are in f‌lux, and local govern-

ments are applying inconsis-

tent approaches.”

Under Jim’s direction,

our Sustainable Use of Land

Program has focused on the

improvement of state and

local laws to f‌ind ways to

eliminate perverse incentives

and build systems premised

on “smarter laws, better

Research Brief

ELI Catches the Wind

Elissa Parker

Vice President

Research and Policy