Wind Power in New England: Reducing Pollution

The document explains how wind energy integrates into the New England electricity grid to displace polluting fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, oil, and coal. It highlights the importance of siting turbines in high-wind areas to maximize pollution reduction and discusses policy mechanisms like cap-and-trade and renewable portfolio standards to accelerate the transition to clean energy.

• More than 60 percent of New England's electricity is currently generated from fossil fuels, including coal, oil, and natural gas, which emit sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, fine particles of soot, carbon dioxide, and mercury.
• Wind energy reduces pollution by displacing the most expensive power plants on the grid; while natural gas plants are typically displaced, wind can displace oil-fired plants during winter peak demand and coal plants during periods of low electricity use.
• Pollution reduction from wind is generally regional, but becomes more localized in areas with limited transmission capability, such as Maine, eastern Massachusetts, and southwestern Connecticut. In southeastern Massachusetts, where 36 percent of capacity is oil-fired, wind turbines are more likely to displace local oil plants.
• Siting is critical because small increases in wind speed significantly boost electricity production and pollution avoidance; for instance, a site with 16 mph average winds can produce 30 percent more electricity than one with 14 mph, and 50 to 60 percent more than one with 13 mph.
• The document identifies cap-and-trade systems and renewable electricity standards (RPS) as effective regulatory strategies. It notes that the Massachusetts NOX trading program allows wind generators to apply for and retire NOX allowances, and the proposed Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) may allow states to retire CO2 allowances for renewable energy purchases.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2007). Wind Power in New England: Reducing Pollution. https://www.ucs.org/resources/wind-power-new-england-reducing-pollution

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Wind Power in New England: Reducing Pollution. 2007. https://www.ucs.org/resources/wind-power-new-england-reducing-pollution.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Wind Power in New England: Reducing Pollution |date=6 March 2007 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/wind-power-new-england-reducing-pollution |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2007wind, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Wind Power in New England: Reducing Pollution}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2007}, month = mar, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/wind-power-new-england-reducing-pollution}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }