Can revenue generated by wind power be put to community well-being rather than corporate profit? professor Keith Taylor explores this question in his book, (West Virginia University Press, May 2019).
“Who owns wind energy development, and does it matter for rural livelihoods?” asks Taylor, a faculty specialist in community economic development with the Department of Human Ecology.
His book reveals a sleeping giant in the electricity sector: rural electric cooperatives. Owned and governed by 42 million rural Americans, these co-ops generate more than $40 billion in annual revenue.
Through case studies of a North Dakota wind energy cooperative and an investor-owned wind farm in Illinois, Taylor examines how regulatory and social forces are shaping this emerging energy sector. He draws on interviews with local residents to assess strategies for tipping the balance of power away from absentee-owned utilities.
Taylor’s research finds that, despite the reach and potential impact of these electric co-ops, economic development and investment policy tends to favor traditional, investor-owned models of ownership. This diminishes the potential to use renewable energy development to positively affect the livelihoods