Making European-style community wind power development work in the US

摘要

Once primarily a European phenomenon, community wind power development—defined here as one or more locally owned, utility-scale wind turbines interconnected on either the customer or utility side of the meter—is gaining a foothold in an increasing number of states throughout the US. This article describes the various policies and incentives that Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Massachusetts are using to support community wind power development, and how state and federal support influences the types of projects and ownership structures that are being developed. Experience in these states demonstrates that, with an array of incentives and creative financing schemes targeted at community-scale projects, there are opportunities to make community wind work in the US.