Principal Investigator Lawrence Susskind
As conventional approaches to energy use and production become increasingly difficult to sustain, policymakers are at crossroads, worldwide. Key choices with potentially long-term consequences must be made regarding the energy pathway that each country will take. Wind power, if used effectively, can contribute to more sustainable energy strategies. However, in order to tap the many benefits of wind power, government decision-makers must position policies, which are conducive to renewable energy integration into sustainable markets. This comparative research of wind power diffusion and advance in countries with substantial wind potential finds that the more sophisticated feed-in tariffs and policy frameworks with a performance-based focus, like binding targets or quotas, are much more likely to support the growth of wind power and the development of wind turbine markets. Brazil, China, Denmark, India, Germany, Spain, and the United States are considered for the period 1995 to the present.