Middle States Geographer, 2004, 37:9-18 Utility-Scale Wind Power in the Northeastern United States: A Consideration of Present and Future Locations

ABSTRACT: As the fastest growing form of alternative energy in the United States, wind power is likely to become more obvious in the landscape of the Northeast over the next 20 years. Already several large wind projects have been built in the region, several more have been approved and are being built, and many more have been proposed. Because of their obvious impact on the visual landscape, siting wind turbine arrays has become an important and sometimes contested process. Wind projects are proposed and located for a combination of four reasons:1. Wind Patterns, 2. State Policies, 3. Economic Status and Local Attitudes, and 4. Population Concentrations. The most limiting of these factors is wind patterns because without a mean wind speed of 15.7 mph at 50 meters elevation, it is not currently economical to build a wind project, restricting most projects in the region to ridge tops or coastal waters. Within these constraints, favorable state policies, economic hardship, and nearby population concentrations promote the siting of wind projects. On the other hand, regions that depend on tourism and vacation home sales typically oppose the siting of wind projects. In the near future, the current pattern of siting wind projects is likely to continue. However, over the long term, even tourist/vacation regions may become more open to the siting of utility-scale wind developments