Wind Law

Wind Law, or the laws encouraging the development and regulation of wind energy, is achieved through a combination of federal statutes and regulations in cooperation with state law. This research guide provides access to both laws and data about wind energy.  

Research Topics

Research topics might include (1) planning and developing a wind farm; (2) identifying incentives for implementing wind energy solutions; (3) responding to nuisance lawsuits for noise caused by wind turbines; (4) ensuring that a wind farm does not violate federal environmental laws; or (5) complying with local zoning laws for installing a wind turbine or a wind farm, among many others.

This Guide

For whatever issue being researched, the researcher will need to consult federal and state statutes, regulations, and case law.  The researcher will need to identify the appropriate administrative agencies, and search for any guidance documents they provide.  A researcher will also want to consult practice treatises, law journal articles and other secondary to understand developing issues in this area of law or to get guidance while practicing in the wind energy and renewable energy fields.  Finally, researchers may need to locate scientific, technical, or statistical data.  

Getting Started

This research guide provides starting points to each of these research paths.  Additionally, it alo provides links to other research guides created by law libraries and the Library of Congress.  These too will be complete with legal and technical information. 

Finally, researchers unfamiliar with this area of law might peruse the book Wind and Solar Law, published by Matthew Bender and available on Lexis+ (subscription required).  The table of contents of this work is reproduced below and may help the researcher identify the scope of issues raised in wind energy law and begin to obtain a fuller understanding of the law.

CHAPTER 1 WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY IN THE UNITED STATES
CHAPTER 2 MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE WIND ENERGY LEASE
CHAPTER 3 MAJOR ELEMENTS OF THE SOLAR ENERGY LEASE
CHAPTER 4 CONCURRENT USES OF REAL PROPERTY
CHAPTER 5 SEVERANCE OF RIGHTS
CHAPTER 6 FEDERAL INCENTIVES AND MANDATES
CHAPTER 7 SALE OF WIND AND SOLAR ENERGY
CHAPTER 8 TRANSMISSION ISSUES
CHAPTER 9 ENVIRONMENTAL STATUTES, PERMITTING, AND LITIGATION
CHAPTER 10 WIND AND SOLAR LITIGATION
CHAPTER 11 OFFSHORE WIND