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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 9201. Congressional findings and declaration of purpose
(a) The Congress finds that -
(1) the United States is faced with a finite and diminishing
resource base of native fossil fuels and, as a consequence, must
develop as quickly as possible a diversified, pluralistic
national energy capability and posture;
(2) the current imbalance between supply and demand for fuels
and energy in the United States is likely to grow for many years;
(3) it is in the Nation's interest to provide opportunities for
the increased production of electricity from renewable energy
sources;
(4) the early wide-spread utilization of wind energy for the
generation of electricity and for mechanical power could lead to
relief on the demand for existing non-renewable fuel and energy
supplies;
(5) the use of large wind energy systems for certain limited
applications is already economically feasible;
(6) the use of small wind energy systems for certain
applications is already economically feasible, and therefore, the
Federal Government should not undertake any financial incentive
or financial initiative which may detrimentally affect commercial
markets for small wind energy systems;
(7) an aggressive research, development and demonstration
program to accelerate widespread utilization of wind energy
should solve existing technical problems of converting wind
energy into electricity and mechanical energy and, supported by
an assured and growing market for wind energy systems during the
next decade, should maximize the future contribution of wind
energy to the Nation's future energy production;
(8) it is the proper and appropriate role of the Federal
Government to undertake research and development, to participate
in demonstration programs for wind energy systems, and to assist
private industry, other entities, and the general public in
hastening the widespread utilization of such systems;
(9) the widespread use of wind energy systems to supplement and
replace conventional methods for the generation of electricity
and mechanical power would have a beneficial effect upon the
environment;
(10) the evaluation of the performance and reliability of wind
energy technologies can be expedited by the testing of prototypes
under carefully controlled conditions;
(11) innovation and creativity in the development of components
and systems for converting wind energy into electricity and
mechanical energy can be fostered through encouraging direct
contact between the manufacturers of such components and systems
and utilities and other persons interested in utilizing such
components and systems; and
(12) consistent with the findings of the Domestic Policy Review
on Solar Energy, wind energy can potentially contribute 1.7 quads
of energy per year by the year 2000.
(b) It is declared to be the policy of the United States and the
purpose of this chapter to establish during the next eight years an
aggressive research, development, demonstration, and technology
applications program for converting wind energy into electricity
and mechanical energy. It is declared to be the further policy of
the United States and the purpose of this chapter that the
objectives of such program are -
(1) to reduce the average cost of electricity produced by
installed wind energy systems, by the end of fiscal year 1988, to
a level competitive with conventional energy sources;
(2) to reach a total megawatt capacity in the United States
from wind energy systems, by the end of fiscal year 1988, of at
least eight hundred megawatts, of which at least one hundred
megawatts are provided by small wind energy systems; and
(3) to accelerate the growth of a commercially viable and
competitive industry to make wind energy systems available to the
general public as an option in order to reduce national
consumption of fossil fuel.
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