What are the barriers to wind power? What can be done about them?
• Wind is an intermittent resource, and people don’t necessarily live in places where the wind is blowing the strongest and longest. These problems can be solved by improving our nations power grid so that long-distance transmission is improved. Larger electric load balancing areas, along with coordinated large-scale planning, will allow regions to depend upon many different sources of power, including wind. • Policy barriers stand in the way of wind power’s long-term stability. The renewable energy tax credits, if extended for only on or two years, can cause a boom and bust cycle of investment and revenues. A long-term extension would increase investor confidence and allow clean energy companies to survive and thrive. • A national renewable portfolio standard (RPS, or clean energy goal) would also help to drive the market for renewable energy such as wind. The long-term predictability created by such a standard would attract investment capital and allow clean technology companies to a
