Legal Challenges Facing Wind Power Can be a Breeze with Proper Planning

Rapid growth in the US wind industry is increasingly placing wind farm developments closer to where people live and work, escalating chances for development conflicts. An understanding of the uncertain regulatory climate within the USA, along with planning and good communication, can go a long way to avoiding the conflicts and legal challenges that can easily derail a project. The purpose of this article is to describe the existing US domestic wind farm development landscape and outline issues to consider before and during wind energy projects. As a second component, this article addresses ways to work proactively with communities to avoid conflict, as well as outlining legal defence strategies should nuisance lawsuits arise.

By Trey Cox, Attorney, Lynn Tillotson & Pinker, Dallas, Texas