Offshore wind farm siting in Germany and the United States: Legal and policy impediments and supports

Abstract

This paper compares the U.S. and German approaches to offshore wind farm development. It addresses how each country's legal and regulatory principles and institutional mechanisms support or impede the siting and development of renewable energy in the Exclusive Economic Zone. Overall the German approach can be characterized as cautious, but committed, while a lack of public support at the federal level has characterized the U.S. approach in recent years.