Wind energy policy of the United States

Modern United States wind energy policy coincided with the beginning of modern wind industry of the United States, which began in the early 1980s with the arrival of utility-scale wind turbines in California at the Altamont Pass wind farm. Since then, the industry has had to endure the financial uncertainties caused by a highly fluctuating tax incentive program. Because these early wind projects were fueled by investment tax credits based on installation rather than performance, they were plagued with issues of low productivity and equipment reliability. Those investment tax credits expired in 1986, which forced investors to focus on improving the reliability and efficiency of their turbines. The 1990s saw rise to a new type of tax credit, the production tax credit, which propelled technological improvements to the wind turbine even further by encouraging investors to focus on electricity output rather than installation.

Wind energy policy is generally directed at three categories of constituents:

1. Research and Development Organizations
2. Commercial/Residential Generators
3. Manufacturers and Producers

with one of two goals:

1. to provide incentives or require production and installation of wind turbines or production of electricity from wind, or
2. facilitate the appropriate location of wind turbines.

Historically, incentives have come in the form of production or installation tax credits, grants, and renewable portfolio standards, at the federal, state, and local levels of government. Policy facilitating appropriate location has historically come in the form of local ordinances and permitting requirements.