US Legislative Incentives for Wind-Generated Electricity: State and Local Statutes

Abstract

Although far less important than the now-expired federal tax credit in fostering the growth of industrial-sized wind plants within the United States, legislation in individual states has been significant in determining where wind plants will be built and how widely wind-generated electricity will be used and in fostering the use of smaller facilities that generate electricity for on-site use. Such legislation has principally taken two forms: financial incentives and regulatory mandates. Financial incentives, which include various forms of tax relief, loans for the purchase of wind-power equipment and rebates that partially offset installation costs, are typically available only for small projects generating electricity f or on-site use. Regulatory mandates are directed at utility companies. The most significant of these require utilities to obtain increasing percentages of their sales of electricity or their generating capacity from renewable sources, such as wind energy. As this article seeks to demonstrate, state law will continue to play an important role in the development of windgenerated electricity even if the US Congress reinstates federal tax credits and enacts legislation authorising the use of federal public lands and offshore areas for wind facilities.