Name: Why Environmentalists Are Fighting Renewable Energy Development | WSJ
Uploaded: 2021-08-24T22:08:01.000Z
Duration: 7 min 22 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

In the Midwest, newer and bigger wind turbines

and fights over solar farms have broken out

In these fights property rights advocates

New research says that if this movement continues,

it could stall the country's green energy transition.

- We used to think that there's sufficient land

some land use conflicts that would actually hit

- [Narrator] The fights about solar and wind

- So these projects are as big as they are

because that's what makes them as cheap as they are.

who studies energy security at the Brookings Institution

says that, "Most US wind turbines are roughly 500 feet tall

and are spaced more than half a mile apart.

These installations can be seen for miles."

- You have projects being put in place in those areas

where people aren't used to seeing a lot of development,

and they're there because that's where they need to be,

because they're a real change to the use of the land.

to develop renewables when compared to fossil fuels."

- Well, if you think about making electricity

from natural gas and the kind of land footprint that has,

it's about one 10th of the land area, per unit of power

You can farm underneath it, have it for pasture land,

but still that land will be occupied by the wind facility.

- [Narrator] Despite these land use issues,

are pouring money into new green energy projects.

to advance America's leadership in clean energy,

or mitigate the threat of climate change.

- [Narrator] The high level of interest in clean energy

The state of Indiana started to experiment

with utility scale wind power in 2008, as of 2021,

have some amount of wind or solar development,

has taken over county and state level politics.

arguing that the structures are an economic scam

that will be a nuisance to public health,

The movement gained influence over the years.

As of 2021, more than 30 Indiana counties

have restricted the development of utility scale renewables.

which determine how far away projects must be removed

This tactic can keep turbines away from homes

But some residents would like to see the bans

- [Narrator] State legislators like Ed Soliday,

a Republican representing Valparaiso, Indiana,

say that the restrictions may harm the region's economy.

In 2021, Soliday wrote and introduced House Bill 1381,

from issuing outright bans on wind and solar projects.

is there's a market for renewable energy,

and we can either pay ever rising transmission costs

or we can participate in the market here in Indiana.

- [Narrator] The bill introduced by Soliday

died in the state's 2021 legislative session

He says a similar battle is unfolding over solar energy.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Why Environmentalists Are Fighting Renewable Energy Development | WSJ

resilience

eliminate

gross

scale