Promoting Wind Power through National Policies

Abstract

The development of wind power in the recent period has displayed signs of both success and fragility. Its expansion has not been the result of a market-led dynamic nor of a societally-driven process (except to an extent in Denmark and Germany). On the contrary, its deployment has been the result of political process, since its development has required supportive public policy initiatives. This chapter will analyse the manners in which this has occurred. Its aim is to analyse policy choices at the national level, identifying the major innovations and assessing their outcomes. It reports critically on the extent to which policy-makers have reviewed and improved national policy on the basis of experience over the long term. Core questions addressed are: How far has policy been interventionist or ‘market-centred’? What are the development path consequences of particular choices of policy design? The first section provides a policy overview by reviewing the justifications for support to renewables and setting out the main options available. In the second section, the historical development of policy instruments to promote wind power is analysed in relation to Denmark, France, Germany, Spain and the UK. Chapter 5 will then concentrate on cross-national comparison in other to evaluate the rich variety of experiences and draw policy lessons.