We Need a War Effort on Wind Turbines

Europe should build wind farms as if winning the war in Ukraine depended on it: After all, the winter is gusty, wind power doesn’t emit carbon and you don’t have to pay unfriendly governments to make it blow.

To be sure, we need to mobilize every available energy resource to reduce power bills and keep the lights on. We must keep nuclear plants operating, tap new gas supplies and add more energy storage. Yet we’re still not building renewables fast enough, and that’s often due to byzantine administrative hurdles and local opposition. The solution is to cut red tape and turn “NIMBYs” into “YIMBYs” — people who say, “Yes, in my back yard.”

While turbine manufacturers have struggled lately with competitive auctions and cost inflation that upset their customers’ financial calculations, delays with permits and a shortage of available land are long-standing problems: It can take almost a decade for various impact assessments to be completed, the legal arguments to end and the turbines to start spinning.