Utility siting of WECS: a preliminary legal/regulatory assessment

A growing number of electric utilities in the United States are considering using wind energy as a power generation source. Currently, many utilities are investigating potential wind machine sites in their areas. Identifying suitable sites for large wind machine clusters, or wind farms, requires more than finding a location with an adequate wind resource, however. Consideration must also be given to the legal and regulatory questions raised by wind energy system siting. The purpose of this report is to examine the early experiences of several utilities in dealing with the legal and regulatory issues that were raised in the process of siting wind energy installations. The report also makes recommendations as to how utilities can begin to address many of the identified issues.