Impacts of species protections on wind turbine development: evidence from golden eagle protection policies

Abstract

As demand for wind energy grows, policymakers face tradeoffs between wind turbine development and wildlife species protections. This is particularly relevant for golden eagles, which have a habitat that overlaps areas of high wind energy development potential. Golden eagle protections, such as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA), therefore potentially conflict with wind energy development goals. Policymakers face a lack of information regarding the existence and size of potential impacts of species protections on wind development. To approach this issue, I employ a difference-in-differences research design exploiting variation in BGEPA enforcement over time and geographic variation in golden eagle exposure to identify the impacts of species protections on wind development in resource-rich areas. I find that counties with high golden eagle exposure experienced declines in expected wind turbine capacity additions of 3.78 megawatts during the enforcement period, suggesting a total of 420 megawatts of foregone wind energy. This electricity generation loss has an estimated value of $56 to $142 million annually. Existing golden eagle valuation methods suggest significant economic gains from wind turbine expansion, although these estimations arguably apply only to marginal wildlife impacts and should be applied with caution. These results emphasize that the value of foregone renewable energy is an often-overlooked component of species protection policy discussions, and that effective conservation measures and funding are necessary both for the futures of many species and for renewable technology deployment.