23. Renewable Energy Policies

Environmental Politics and Law (EVST 255)

The lecture discusses the various factors affecting the expansion of the U.S. renewable energy portfolio, as well as the importance of energy efficiency and changes to current consumption. As a case study, Professor Wargo discusses the nine-year effort to create Cape Wind, a wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts. The project has faced opposition for a number of reasons, including noise and disruption of use of private property. The lecture ties the development of more renewable energy options to issues of property rights and discusses ways to overcome challenges in siting, in noise pollution, and in the impacts on wildlife (i.e. avian mortality as a result of wind farms).

00:00 – Chapter 1. Renewable Energy: Promise and Plight
11:12 – Chapter 2. Project Siting and Local Concerns
19:09 – Chapter 3. U.S. Wind Capacity & Potential; Key Benefits
23:34 – Chapter 4. Avian Mortality and Noise Pollution; Utility Consumption
29:02 – Chapter 5. The Cape Wind Case: Conflict in the Wind
38:54 – Chapter 6. Comparisons and Conclusions

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2010.