Wind-Power Development in Germany and the United States: Structural Factors, Multiple-Stream Convergence, and Turning Points
Wind-Power Development in Germany and the United States: Structural Factors, Multiple-Stream Convergence, and Turning Points
This chapter compares wind-power development in Germany and the United States by focusing on the share of each country's total electricity generation or consumption that is produced from wind. More specifically, it examines the differences between the two countries in the extent to which they have developed wind power successfully based on two contrasting theoretical perspectives, one dealing with socioeconomic structures and political institutions, and the other on the interaction between problem and political streams. It also discusses three phases in wind-power development in the two countries: US leadership (1978–1993); Germany's rise into a growing leadership role (1993–2004); and the beginning of catch-up by the United States (2004–present). Finally, it explains how certain combinations of structures and processes drove the turning points between these phases, along with the implications for theories of environmental outcomes and for multiple-streams theory.
Keywords: wind power development, German wind power, United States wind power, electricity generation, socioeconomic structures, political institutions, multiple-streams theory, electricity consumption
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