What is Influencing Renewable Energy Infrastructure Deployment? A Multi-State Study of U.S. Wind Generation Deployment Efforts

摘要

Recent research has determined what influences the adoption of state renewable energy policy instruments. At present, nearly all of the U.S. states have deployed or have begun to deploy infrastructure that derives energy from renewable resources. This multiple U.S. State study represents an effort to determine the factors that are influencing the wind renewable energy infrastructure deployment efforts in thirty-eight U.S. states that have widely varying wind power potential capacities, different capacities of wind generation infrastructure deployed and varying Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) policy goals. This study utilizes the internal determinants and regional diffusion theoretical models of government policy innovation to determine the ability of each model to explain variation in state renewable infrastructure deployment efforts. The fraction of each state’s total deployed wind energy capacity as a function of its total wind potential capacity was used as the dependent variable and state economic factors, geographic and electric system factors and political and ideological factors were used as independent variables representing internal determinants. The effect of regional diffusion was determined by examining the potential wind capacities and actual deployment levels of wind infrastructure in each state’s neighbor states. Preliminary results indicate that the internal determinants model was a better predictor of current state renewable energy deployment efforts than the regional diffusion model. In particular, the density of high-voltage transmission lines (circuit miles/square mile) was a very strong predictor of state deployment success. If this is the case, it may be necessary for states who wish increase their levels of renewable wind energy capacity to place a greater focus on the amount of available transmission infrastructure and factor this into the design of their RPS policy instruments.