167 WINDY CITY HEAT: HOW WIND ENERGY CAN HELP POWER ILLINOIS INTO THE FUTURE Matthew K. McCasland TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction ......................................................................................... 168 II. Background ......................................................................................... 169 A. Wind Energy Basics .................................................................... 169 B. History of Wind Energy in the United States and Illinois ........... 171 1. United States Wind Energy History ...................................... 171 2. Illinois Wind History ............................................................. 173 III. Analysis............................................................................................... 175 A. Technological Requirements ....................................................... 175 1. Rotor ...................................................................................... 175 2. Blades .................................................................................... 176 3. Active Controls...................................................................... 177 4. Towers ................................................................................... 177 5. Drivetrain............................................................................... 178 6. Offshore Wind Development ................................................ 179 B. Benefits........................................................................................ 180 1. Job Creation........................................................................... 180 2. Environmental Benefits ......................................................... 181 C. Problems ...................................................................................... 181 1. Nuisance ................................................................................ 182 2. Zoning ................................................................................... 185 IV. Recommendation ................................................................................ 188 A. The Federal Government Must Promote Wind Energy ............... 188 B. Illinois Must Continue Its Path Toward Renewable Energy ....... 189 C. Wind Turbines Must Not Be Classified As Nuisances ................ 190 V. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 191 J.D. candidate, University of Illinois, College of Law, 2012. B.A., University of Wisconsin- Madison, 2008. I would like to thank my family and friends for their support through the years. I am also grateful to fellow JLTP members for their helpful insight and edits.
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167
WINDY CITY HEAT: HOW WIND ENERGY
CAN HELP POWER ILLINOIS INTO THE
FUTURE
Matthew K. McCasland
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction ......................................................................................... 168 II. Background ......................................................................................... 169
A. Wind Energy Basics .................................................................... 169 B. History of Wind Energy in the United States and Illinois ........... 171
1. United States Wind Energy History ...................................... 171 2. Illinois Wind History ............................................................. 173
III. Analysis ............................................................................................... 175 A. Technological Requirements ....................................................... 175
IV. Recommendation ................................................................................ 188 A. The Federal Government Must Promote Wind Energy ............... 188 B. Illinois Must Continue Its Path Toward Renewable Energy ....... 189 C. Wind Turbines Must Not Be Classified As Nuisances ................ 190
V. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 191
J.D. candidate, University of Illinois, College of Law, 2012. B.A., University of Wisconsin-
Madison, 2008. I would like to thank my family and friends for their support through the years. I am also
grateful to fellow JLTP members for their helpful insight and edits.
168 JOURNAL OF LAW, TECHNOLOGY & POLICY [Vol. 2012
I. INTRODUCTION
Many people believe Chicago is called the “Windy City” because of the
strong winds that come off Lake Michigan.1 The wind energy community sees
Chicago as the “Windy City” because it is the de facto wind energy capital of
North America.2 In fact, several of the world’s largest wind energy companies
have opened offices in Chicago.3
America has been cognizant of alternative energy for well over a
century.4 In the not-too-distant future, as our finite quantity of fossil fuels
decrease, alternative energy sources will have to play a bigger role in providing
energy to the United States.5 United States electricity demands will increase
by approximately 39% from 2005 to 2030.6 So how does America satisfy
those demands? One solution is for the United States to turn to alternative
energy. President Bush stated in 2006 that America needs greater diversity in
its energy portfolio.7 That statement led to a collaborative effort between the
U.S. Department of Energy, the American Wind Energy Association, and a
major engineering and consulting firm to propose having 20% of the United
States’ energy provided by wind energy by the year 2030.8 This group put
together a report in 2008 that laid out the foundations of what needed to be
accomplished by industry and government to help achieve that goal.9
The government has started to embrace the idea of wind energy and the
goal of 20% by 2030. In 2011, United States Congressman Paul D. Tonko
from New York introduced a bill in the House of Representatives titled Wind Energy Research and Development Act of 2011.
10 This bill would give
1. There are many different explanations offered as to the “Windy City” nickname. Such explanations
include the weather, a rivalry with Cincinnati, and bidding for the World’s Fair: See Nathan Bierma, Windy
City: Where Did It Come From?, CHI. TRIB., Dec. 7, 2004, http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2004-12-
07/features/0412070313_1_windy-city-dana-chicago-press (providing newspaper articles that connect “Windy
City” to the World’s Fair bid); Barry Popik, Windy City, BIG APPLE (Oct. 11, 2004), http://
www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/summary/ (discussing the origin of “Windy City” for
Chicago using newspaper evidence).
2. Chicago: The Home of Wind Power in North America, ILL. WIND ENERGY COAL.,
http://www.windforillinois.org/chicago/ (last visited Feb. 13, 2012) [hereinafter The Home of Wind Power].
3. Id.
4. DAN CHIRAS, WIND POWER BASICS 1 (2010).
5. See, e.g., Tim Appenzeller, The End of Cheap Oil, NAT’L GEOGRAPHIC, June 2004, http://ngm.
nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0406/feature5/fulltext.html (“Humanity's way of life is on a collision course with
geology—with the stark fact that the Earth holds a finite supply of oil.”).
6. U.S. DEP’T OF ENERGY, 20% WIND ENERGY BY 2030: INCREASING WIND ENERGY’S CONTRIBUTION
TO U.S. ELECTRICITY SUPPLY 1 (July 2008), available at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy08osti/41869.pdf
[hereinafter 20% BY 2030].
7. Id. President Obama also addressed green energy as a way to create American jobs and having the
federal government place a greater emphasis on investing in alternative energy. See President Barack Obama,
State of the Union (Jan. 24, 2012) (transcript available at http://news.nationalpost.com/2012/01/24/state-of-
the-union-address-full-text/).
8. 20% BY 2030, supra note 6, at 1.
9. Id. (stating how this report “estimates the impacts, and discusses specific needs and outcomes in the
areas of technology, manufacturing and employment, transmission and grid integration, markets, siting
strategies, and potential environmental effects associated with a 20% Wind Scenario”).
10. H.R. 2782, 112th Cong. (2011). A previous identical bill was introduced by Representative Tomko
in 2009. Wind Energy Research and Development Act of 2009, H.R. 3165, 111th Cong. (2009). That bill,
unfortunately, did not make it out of committee before the 111th
Congress concluded, but Congress did
No. 1] WINDY CITY HEAT 169
additional funding to the Department of Energy to improve wind energy
development and specifically allocate money for research and development to
assist in the goal of 20% wind energy by 2030.11
This Note discusses how Illinois can help America reach that 20% wind
energy goal. It focuses on the technological improvements that need to be
made in wind energy, current Illinois law and policies in place that affect wind
energy, and what laws need to be in place to promote wind energy. Part II will
discuss the background and history of wind energy and wind energy
development in the United States and Illinois. It will also discuss the basics of
how wind turbines and wind energy work.
Part III will analyze the necessary technological and research
advancements needed to reach the 20% goal by 2030. Specifically, this section
will discuss technological improvements to the wind turbine structure
including the rotor, blades, active controls, towers, and drivetrain. Part III will
also explore offshore wind development and the technological improvements
that will help to increase productivity from offshore wind turbines, focusing
specifically on wind energy development on Lake Michigan due to its
connection to Illinois. This section will also discuss the environmental and
economic benefits of wind energy, again with a focus on the state of Illinois.
Finally, Part III will address problems that may arise with wind energy in
Illinois. This includes analyzing nuisance claims under Illinois law and
discussing the zoning laws of Illinois to see whether the laws are detrimental or
beneficial to Illinois residents and the wind energy community.
Part IV will recommend three positions: (1) that that the federal
government should embrace wind energy as an alternative energy source, by
passing necessary legislation and changing where energy subsidies are
distributed—away from fossil fuels and toward green energy; (2) that Illinois
should also embrace wind energy, and that regulation of wind turbines should
be done on a local level; and (3) that wind turbines should not be classified as
nuisances, and the Illinois state legislature should pass a statute redefining
nuisance and prohibiting landowners from bringing nuisance claims against
wind turbine operators.
II. BACKGROUND
A. Wind Energy Basics
Wind energy, in its most basic form, is harnessed when wind is captured
by wind turbines and converted into energy. There are multiple steps required
to complete this conversion. First, blades are mounted at the top of a turbine
conduct hearings on the bill that will be utilized in this Note. As of publication, the 2011 bill is still in the
committee stage.
11. See H.R. 2782; H.R. REP NO. 111-248 (2009) (presenting an argument by Representative Paul D.
Tonko about how the Department of Energy is calling for 20% wind energy by 2030 and that the purpose of
this bill is to help the wind energy sector reach that goal).
170 JOURNAL OF LAW, TECHNOLOGY & POLICY [Vol. 2012
tower, because the higher the blades, the more energy the blades can capture.12
Wind turbines vary in height but most are roughly 100 meters tall or less.13
Next, the wind turns the blades by acting “much like an airplane wing.”14
When the wind blows, a pocket of low-pressure air forms on the downwind side of the blade. The low-pressure air pocket then pulls the blade toward it, causing the rotor to turn. This is called lift. The force of the lift is actually much stronger than the wind’s force against the front side of the blade, which is called drag. The combination of lift and drag causes the rotor to spin like a propeller, and the turning shaft spins a generator to make electricity.
15
A turbine normally consists of three long and rectangular blades that spin
around a rotor hub that is connected to a nacelle enclosing.16
The nacelle
enclosing contains the gearbox, generator, electrical controls, and low-speed
shaft.17
The gearbox connects the gears from the low-speed shaft of the blades
to the high-speed shaft which drives the generator and produces electricity.18
Then, the generator’s job is to transform the mechanical energy provided by
the blades into electrical energy.19
The basic process of energy transformation
is that “[t]he blades transfer the kinetic energy from the wind into rotational
energy in the transmission system, and the generator is the next step in the
supply of energy from the wind turbine to the electrical grid.”20
The energy then moves on a per need basis from the electrical grid to
homes and businesses. There are three main wind-energy-system options to
move the energy from the turbine to a location: grid-connected, grid-
connected with batteries, and off-grid.21
A grid-connected system connects
directly to the utility company’s electrical grid and does not require the use of
any batteries.22
The utility company’s grid system accepts surplus energy and
also supplies energy when the wind turbine is inactive.23
From the grid, the
electricity then goes to where it is utilized. Effective storage of wind turbine-
12. Wind Energy Basics, NAT’L RENEWABLE ENERGY LABORATORY, http://www.nrel.gov/learning/
re_wind.html (last visited Feb. 27, 2012) (stating that wind blows at a stronger, more consistent rate the higher
in altitude one gets from the earth).
13. Id. See also 20% BY 2030, supra note 6, at 26 (discussing how most wind turbines top out at 100
meters in height because of economic constraints).
14. Wind Energy Basics, supra note 12.
15. Id.
16. A rotor hub is where the blades are mounted on a shaft; a nacelle enclosing is where all the
mechanical parts of the wind turbine are enclosed. See 20% BY 2030, supra note 6, at 26.
17. These are the inner workings of the nacelle enclosing which is the next “stop” for the energy. This
is the start of the conversion of mechanical energy to electrical energy and where that conversion ends up
taking place. Id.
18. Wind and Water Program: How Wind Turbines Work, U.S. DEP’T OF ENERGY http://
domestic content in green technologies purchased by Federal agencies or by States with Federal funds and in
property eligible for the renewable energy production or investment tax credits.”); Wind Energy Research and
Development Act of 2011, H.R. 2782, 112th Cong. (2011), available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
pkg/BILLS-112hr2782ih/pdf/BILLS-112hr2782ih.pdf (“[P]roviding for a program of wind energy research,
development, and demonstration, and other purposes.”).
No. 1] WINDY CITY HEAT 173
can serve as a large provider of baseload electricity in the United States.”48
To
address those concerns Representative Paul Tonko introduced the “Wind
Energy Research and Development Act of 2011” during the 2011–2012
Congressional Session, which would provide $1 billion from the federal
government over a five-year period to the Secretary of Energy to carry out a
program that would “improve the energy efficiency, reliability, and capacity of
wind turbines; optimize the design and adaptability of wind energy systems;
and reduce the cost of construction, generation, and maintenance of wind
energy systems.”49
The purpose of this bill is to meet the goal set out in the
report by the Department of Energy of 20% wind energy by 2030.50
In 2009,
the Department of Energy’s Wind Program received approximately only $50
million annually.51
Research and development for other types of alternative
energy receive at least triple that amount, and this bill would help narrow that
research and development gap for wind energy.52
2. Illinois Wind History
Illinois’ first wind farm was constructed in 2003.53
Since 2003, Illinois
has increased its wind energy production from 50 MW per year to 2,438 MW
per year.54
Illinois currently ranks fifth in the country in wind-generating
capacity and sixteenth in the country in wind-generating potential capacity.55
Northwest and north-central Illinois have the best locations for wind energy in
Illinois.56
A benefit that Illinois has over states such as the Dakotas or Texas is
that Illinois has an already developed transmission infrastructure (e.g. power
lines) which makes future development in Illinois more appealing. Due to this
infrastructure, one of the major costs—transportation of energy—is lower in
Illinois than in states that have better potential for wind energy.57
A key to Illinois’ future wind energy growth was the passage of the
“Illinois Power Agency Act” in 2007.58
This act created an agency with the
48. H.R. REP. NO. 111-248, at 7 (2009). Again, Tomko’s bill was reintroduced in 2011 so committee
meetings from 2009 on an identical bill are being used in discussing this bill.
49. The bill would distribute approximately $200 million annually. Id. at 3.
50. Id.
51. Id.
52. See id. at 14 (stating that nuclear energy receives over $960 million, coal $500 million, solar $168
million, and biomass $200 million annually in research and development).
53. Illinois Wind Facts, ILL. WIND ENERGY COAL., http://www.windforillinois.org/facts/ (last visited
Feb. 15, 2012).
54. CTR. FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY AT ILL. STATE UNIV., ECONOMIC IMPACT: WIND ENERGY
DEVELOPMENT IN ILLINOIS JUNE 2010 6 (2010), available at http://renewableenergy.illinoisstate.edu/
wind/publications/2010%20FINAL%20NEW%20Economic%20Impact%20Report.pdf (stating that Illinois
started with fifty MW of wind power in 2003); THIRD QUARTER MARKET REPORT, supra note 44, at 5
(showing how much wind energy is in Illinois as of the third quarter of 2011).
55. Wind-generating capacity is how much a state is actually producing and wind-generating potential
capacity is the maximum a state could produce. THIRD QUARTER MARKET REPORT, supra note 44, at 2.
56. See Resources & Transmission, ILL. WIND ENERGY ASS’N, http://www.windforillinois.org/wind-
resource/ (last visited Feb. 13, 2011) (providing a map of average wind speeds for Illinois).
57. Id.
58. Illinois Power Agency Act, 20 ILL. COMP. STAT. 3855/1-1 (2008). In addition, Illinois passed
legislation to allow counties to own wind turbine farms. This is another example of the Illinois government
embracing wind energy. See 55 ILL. COMP. STAT. 5/5-42000 (2011).
174 JOURNAL OF LAW, TECHNOLOGY & POLICY [Vol. 2012
following goals:
A. Develop electricity procurement plans . . . at the lowest total cost over time. . . . B. Conduct competitive procurement processes to procure the supply resources identified in the procurement plan. . . . C. Develop electric generation and co-generation facilities that use indigenous coal or renewable resources” [and] . . . . D. Supply electricity from Agency’s facilities at cost to . . . municipal electric systems, governmental aggregators, or rural electric cooperatives in Illinois.
59
This statute also created a Renewable Portfolio Standard which set yearly
renewable energy production requirements that Illinois must meet.60
The
standard requires that 5% of all energy distributed be renewable energy by
2010, 10% by 2015, and 25% by 2025.61
Also, to the extent available, at least
75% of the renewable energy resources used to meet the above standards must
come from wind generation.62
Should companies not comply with the agency’s
requirements, the agency has the power to “establish and collect charges and
fees.”63
In 2011, Governor Quinn passed two legislative bills that could expand
Illinois wind energy. House Bill 1558 created the Lake Michigan Offshore
Wind Energy Council Act and the Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy
Council.64
This council will look at the feasibility of developing offshore
energy in Lake Michigan.65
The second act was House Bill 1487 which
created the Renewable Energy Production District Act.66
The act allows
county boards to designate their own renewable energy districts within county
lines that produce clean energy such as solar, wind, and biofuels.67
County
boards are then able to submit the district plans for renewable energy
production through a voter referendum.68
Illinois government is embracing alternative energy, specifically wind
energy. While it is promising to see the state embarking on this path, the goal
of reaching 20% wind energy by 2030 cost-effectively cannot be done solely
through government programs demanding that wind energy be used today and
in the future. Technological advancements and improvements in wind energy
are needed to improve cost-efficiency otherwise the programs are a poor
allocation of taxpayer dollars. These advancements and improvements will
help Illinois reach some of its lofty goals under the Illinois Power Agency Act
59. 20 ILL. COMP. STAT. 3855/1-5 (2008) (emphasis added).
60. Id. 3855/1-75 (2008).
61. Id.
62. Id.
63. Id. 3855/1-20(a)(24) (2008).
64. Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Energy Advisory Council Act, Public Act 97-266, 2011 Ill. Laws
266.
65. Meeting Notes, Lake Michigan Wind Energy Council Outline (Oct. 17, 2011), available at
176. The list for substantial interference contains dust, smoke, odors from a dog kennel, noise from an
amusement park, and flies from a poultry farm. Unpleasant views, occasional odors, and noise from a root
beer stand were not enough to constitute a nuisance. See 1–20 ILL. TORT LAW Nuisance § 20.03, n.46–n.56
No. 1] WINDY CITY HEAT 185
The best argument for a wind turbine nuisance claim under Illinois law
comes from Off v. Exposition Coaster, Inc.177
In Off, the Illinois Supreme
Court found that the noise from an amusement park constituted a nuisance.178
The plaintiffs brought a nuisance claim on noise, stating that the noise sounded
like an electric train, and that they could hear bullets hitting metal and rifles
being fired.179
The noise was so loud that “conversation in . . . [the] back yard
had to be in a loud tone of voice.”180
Plaintiff also stated that he could not
sleep due to the noise and had to go into town to get a hotel room to sleep.181
Lights from the amusement park also posed problems and the shades had to be
drawn.182
The court held that the coming and going of cars and the noise and
lights were at such a level as to “disturb the peace and quiet of complainants”
and constituted a nuisance.183
Predicting whether Illinois courts will find that wind turbines produce the
level of substantial interference seen in Off is impossible. Case law in
secondary jurisdictions shows that wind turbines do not create a substantial
interference into one’s private use of their property to constitute a nuisance. In
Illinois, wind turbines would be analyzed under a nuisance-in-fact standard and
not nuisance per se, which makes it harder to classify them as a nuisance.184
In
Off, there were much louder noises and lights than wind turbines produce.
Because the interference that wind turbines cause is minimal, they will likely
not be a nuisance in Illinois.
2. Zoning
Wind energy is generally accepted by the public.185
But many people do
not want wind turbines placed in their neighborhood.186
This view will likely
lead to increased legislation because the state will need to address wind turbine
property issues being raised by individual land owners. One way to regulate
wind is through zoning laws.
Zoning laws are usually enacted by a county zoning board. Zoning is the
idea that “the right to improve property [by an individual land owner] is
subject to the reasonable exercise of state authority, including the enforcement
(LEXIS 2011) (listing what Illinois courts consider to be a substantial interference and listing what the courts
regard as not being a substantial interference).
177. Off v. Exposition Coaster, Inc., 167 N.E. 782, 785 (Ill. 1929).
178. Id.
179. Id. at 784.
180. Id.
181. Id.
182. Id.
183. Id. at 786.
184. Wind turbines are legal in Illinois, so they must be classified as a nuisance-in-fact due to their
surroundings. See Rankin v. FPL Energy, LLC, 266 S.W.3d 506, 513 (Tex. App. 2008) (addressing the
difference between nuisance per se and nuisance-in-fact).
185. See 20% BY 2030, supra note 6, at 116 (stating that 80% of Americans prefer wind energy
expansion).
186. See generally Susan Lorde Martin, Wind Farms and NIMBYS: Generating Conflict, Reducing
Litigation, 20 FORDHAM ENVTL. L. REV. 427, 442–43 (2010).
186 JOURNAL OF LAW, TECHNOLOGY & POLICY [Vol. 2012
of valid zoning and land-use restrictions.”187
A common requirement for wind
companies is to provide the county board with an environmental impact
statement that describes the effect that a wind farm or wind turbines will have
on the habitat.188
Impacts that zoning boards consider before making a
decision on whether to approve the wind turbine include: noise,189
environmental impact,190
land value,191
and visual impacts.192
Zoning and
siting requirements of wind turbines are important issues in determining how
wind turbines are used in Illinois.193
A key debate in counties is what setback requirements should apply to
wind turbines.194
Setback requirements are how far away turbines must be
from buildings or property lines. Both wind turbine proponents and opponents
understand that setback requirements are necessary, the debate is on what
distance the setback should be. Opponents of wind want setbacks of up to five
kilometers, a restriction which would effectively end wind development in
America.195
Proponents say that a setback of 1.1–1.5 times the fall distance—
turbine height to tip of the blade—is reasonable.196
There is no state law on
wind turbine setbacks; each county determines its own setback requirements.
Current Illinois law is sparse on direct statutes regulating wind turbines.
Illinois has a statute that puts individual state counties in charge of wind farm
zoning requirements. 55 ILCS 5/5-12020 states:
A county may establish standards for wind farms and electric-generating wind devices. The standards may include, without limitation, the height of the devices and the number of devices that may be located within a geographic area. A county may also regulate the siting of wind farms and electric-generating wind devices in unincorporated areas of the county outside of the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality and the 1.5 mile radius surrounding the
187. 83 AM. JUR. 2D Zoning § 1 (2003).
188. See 20% BY 2030, supra note 6, at 106.
189. See id. at 117 (describing how wind turbines make between thirty-five and forty-five decibels of
sound at 350 meters, which is slightly louder than a quiet bedroom).
190. The main environmental risk is bird death by the wind turbines. Wind turbines account for less than
one bird death per 100,000 birds that die by artificial means every year. See id. at 110–14. This number would
obviously grow as more wind turbines were installed. The key thing to remember is the risk benefit analysis
that comes from installing wind turbines.
191. See id. at 118 (stating that there has not been a correlation between wind turbines and decreases in
property value, but more research is needed).
192. This list is by no means exhaustive, each board has its own way of handling wind turbine requests
and there is no standard form that any board follows. See id. at 116–18 (stating that the key to any wind
development plan is discourse between citizens and the government). The FAA also requires that it approve
where wind turbines are placed. See 14 C.F.R. § 77.9 (2010).
193. Siting requirements are restrictions that the government places on a landowner to put an object, like
a wind turbine, on his or her land. An example of a siting requirement would be a federal regulation that
requires individuals who construct an object that is over 200 feet above ground level or if it is within so many
feet of an airport or heliport must notify the administrator of the FAA. See 14 C.F.R. § 77.9.
194. See e.g. Paul Gipe, Public Safety and Setbacks, WIND-WORKS, http://wind-works.org/
188 JOURNAL OF LAW, TECHNOLOGY & POLICY [Vol. 2012
IV. RECOMMENDATION
A. The Federal Government Must Promote Wind Energy
The demand for energy is increasing everyday as America’s population
continues to grow. America needs to start transitioning toward new sources of
energy, and the federal government needs to help assist in that transition before
fossil fuels run out. The federal government is doing that by providing many
financial and tax incentives to companies and individuals to invest in green
technology, including wind energy.202
The bill introduced by Representative Tonko should be enacted because
federal money for wind energy development lags behind other alternative
energy sources. This is a problem because the efficiency of wind turbine
energy capture needs to be improved and one way to spur development is
federal investment. Today’s turbines only capture around 50% of the energy in
wind.203
With the help of research and development money from the federal
government, technological improvements can help raise that percentage.
Investing in wind energy will provide jobs for Americans and help create an
American industry that has the ability to grow for years.
Opponents of wind energy claim that wind energy is a government
subsidized fraud and that wind energy cannot pay for itself.204
Opponents
point to the plethora of tax incentives and programs available for wind
development as an indication that wind energy cannot sustain itself.205
In
reality, all energy sources receive subsidies from the government.206
Coal, oil,
and natural gas received $500 billion in subsidies from 1950 to 1977 and more
subsidy money is going toward fossil fuels today than to renewable energy.207
President Barack Obama stated this point emphatically in his 2012 State of the
Union:
We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits. Create these jobs.
208
202. See Federal Incentives/Policies for Renewables & Efficiency, DATABASE OF STATE INCENTIVES FOR
RENEWABLES AND EFFICIENCY, http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cfm?state=us&re=1&EE=1 (last
visited Feb. 27, 2012) (providing a list of federal programs that encourage green technology).
203. 20% BY 2030, supra note 6, at 31.
204. Eric Bibler, Editorial: Wind Energy is Government Subsidized Fraud, WIND TURBINE SYNDROME