Environmental and siting status and needs of 20% electricity from wind power

Wind energy is one of the cleanest and most environmentally friendly energy sources in the world today. To scale up wind energy development responsibly, the developers and decision makers in United States must examine benefits and risks in context with other energy options. They must consider remaining uncertainties associated with overall risks, cost-effective opportunities for risk mitigation, strategic siting approaches, enlarged community involvement and benefits, and more effective planning and permitting regimes. The paper shows what is needed over the near and longer terms. Some of the activities would begin now and continue through 2030. Given the significant ramp-up of wind installations by 2018 in the 20% wind scenario, these actions need to occur within the next decade, in time to anticipate and plan for siting strategies and potential environmental effects.