Abstract
Even where physical conditions appear perfectly suited for wind power production, there is significant variation in the number of turbines installed. This pattern suggests that physical conditions are a pre-requisite for, but not a determinant of, that production. This study reports the results of an analysis of the county-level correlates of wind power installations in the north–south corridor of the central United States, which contains much of the country’s greatest land-based wind resources. This study focuses on the relative effects of social capital, global climate change concern, and local biodiversity, while controlling for other potential explanations that previous research has identified as leading to support for or to opposition to turbine installation. We find (1) that greater local biodiversity is associated with fewer turbine installations; (2) that the percent of the public who believe humans are causing climate change is not associated with the number of installed turbines; and (3) that a higher degree of county-level social capital is associated with fewer installations. These findings suggest the predominance of local considerations over global ones when it comes to the actual siting of turbines.
Highlights
Widespread concern with global climate change has led to the development of a variety of non-carbon-based alternative energy modes and technologies (AETs)
This paper reports the results of an analysis of the county-level correlates of land-based wind power installations in the north–south corridor of the central United States
The central questions addressed in this paper include: (1) Are the correlates of levels of county-aggregated wind power installations in the central US corridor consistent with those found in other prior individual and aggregate studies of the same relationships, in particular with respect to the roles of political, social, economic, and geographic conditions? (2) Are there significant relationships between the relative presence of globalist or localist environmental perspectives and the differences in the county-level rates of the installation of wind turbines in counties? do those relationships exist even for counties that otherwise share a number of other attributes that are correlated with such an installation? (3) Are county levels of social capital associated with greater or lesser levels of wind turbine installation?
Summary
Widespread concern with global climate change has led to the development of a variety of non-carbon-based alternative energy modes and technologies (AETs). Even where physical conditions may seem perfectly suited for such AET production, one often finds significant variation in their actual installation and use [1,2] In this context, this paper reports the results of an analysis of the county-level correlates of land-based wind power installations in the north–south corridor of the central United States. A disproportionate amount of that untapped land-based potential is located in six US states that together comprise the country’s central north–south corridor: Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota [6] This region is of particular importance in the United States’ energy transition. The central questions addressed in this paper include: (1) Are the correlates of levels of county-aggregated wind power installations in the central US corridor consistent with those found in other prior individual and aggregate studies of the same relationships, in particular with respect to the roles of political, social, economic, and geographic conditions? (2) Are there significant relationships between the relative presence of globalist or localist environmental perspectives and the differences in the county-level rates of the installation of wind turbines in counties? do those relationships exist even for counties that otherwise share a number of other attributes that are correlated with such an installation? (3) Are county levels of social capital associated with greater or lesser levels of wind turbine installation?
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