ABSTRACT
After the exile of the Iranian Shah in 1979 and the second ‘energy crisis’, President Jimmy Carter confided to his friends that he believed one ultimate consequence would be widespread use of renewable energy. Carter expected renewable power technologies such as wind turbines and solar panels, at a minimum, to reach 10 per cent of national electricity capacity in the United States by 1985. Yet the projections from Carter, Hayes, Noland and the National Research Council were made almost three decades ago, and the United States has yet to harness more than a small fraction of its renewable resource base. It then identifies three distinct sets of interconnected and socio-technical barriers – economic, political and behavioural – facing renewable power in the United States. ‘Economic’ barriers include financial impediments, market barriers, and market failures. ‘Political’ barriers reflect regulatory challenges including weak and inconsistent political incentives, varying standards, competition among utilities, and underfunding of research and development.
