Not In Our Backyard

Rural America is fighting back against large-scale renewable energy projects

Preview:

Not in Our Backyard provides a review of the many studies that found the noise from wind energy projects can cause health issues. It includes the summary of a 2009 study done by the Minnesota Department of Health, which documented the health complaints lodged against wind projects and recommended further analysis of the turbine-noise issue.

This analysis also marks the launch of the National Renewable Energy Rejection Database. It provides the names of towns and government entities that have rejected or restricted wind projects since 2015. The database will be regularly updated by Center of the American Experiment, and includes links to additional information, such as local newspaper articles or court judgments (americanexperiment.org/windrejectiondatabase).

Finally, this report documents the widespread resistance to the encroachment of large-scale renewable projects by landowners and local governments across rural America. It shows that the enormous amount of land required by renewable energy is already limiting the growth of wind and solar. Of course, other factors, including the incurable intermittency of renewables as well as the massive amounts of materials, including steel, concrete, copper, and rare earth elements, will limit the deployment of wind and solar. But the biggest barrier is the land-use problem. The ferocity and extent of rural land-use conflicts are showing that any attempt to convert the domestic economy to run solely on renewables is destined to fail

A full copy of the report can be viewed here.