Scott Victor Valentine is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Policy and School of Environment and Energy at City University of Hong Kong.

If you must choose only one book to help understand the dynamics and potential of wind power in the contemporary energy mix, this is it. Valentine provides a succinct overview of the technologies and issues facing the sector and detailed cases studies of countries such as Germany, Denmark Canada, Japan, China and the United States which show the factors and variables which have resulted in some of these countries being world leaders in wind power and others laggards. This is a first class work, engaging and readable yet detailed and sophisticated in its approach and findings

• Table of Contents ; CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE ; 1.1 THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE ; 1. 2 ENERGY AND THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE ; 1. 3 ELECTRICITY AND THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE ; 1.3.1 Electricity Generation Technologies ; 1.3.2 The Dynamics of Electricity Prices ; 1.4 ENERGY MARKET CHANGE & INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS ; 1.4.1 Convergence and Alternative Energy ; 1.4.2 The Need for Speed ; 1.5 ENERGY MARKET CHANGE & DEVELOPING NATIONS ; 1.5.1 Economic Considerations ; 1.5.2 Economic Security Considerations ; 1.5.3 Economic Empowerment ; 1.5.4 Social Considerations ; 1.5.5 The Need for Speed ; 1.6 WHEN FORCES FOR SPEED MEET THE NEED FOR SPEED ; 1.7 THE DICHOTOMY OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ; 1.8 OBJECTIVES AND OUTLINE OF THIS BOOK ; CHAPTER 2: UNDERSTANDING WIND POWER SYSTEMS ; 2.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING WIND POWER SYSTEMS ; 2.2 FEATURES OF WIND POWER SYSTEMS ; 2.2.1 Main Components of a Wind System ; 2.2.2 Innovation and Cost ; 2.2.3 Delivering Wind Power to the Grid ; 2.3 WIND POWER MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES ; 2.3.1 The Challenge of Matching Supply and Demand ; 2.3.2 Stochastic flows ; 2.4 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AND REALITIES ; 2.5 IMPAIRMENT OF EXISTING COMMUNITY ENDOWMENTS ; 2.5.1 Separating Perception from Fact ; 2.5.2 Perceptions Improve ; 2.5.3 Aesthetic Concerns Overshadow All Others ; 2.5.4 Beyond NIMBY Opposition ; 2.5.5 Overall Lessons in Regard to Community Opposition ; 2.5.6 Government Agency Opposition ; 2.6 IMPAIRMENT OF EXISTING ECOSYSTEMS ; 2.6.1 Bird Mortality ; 2.6.2 The Challenge of Estimating Bird Mortality ; 2.6.3 Degradation of Animal Habitat ; 2.6.4 Offshore Wind Farms and Ecological Concerns ; 2.6.5 The Importance of Environmental Impact Assessments ; 2.6.6 Aesthetics ; 2.7 CONCLUSION ; CHAPTER 3: THE POLICY SET MODEL ; 3.1 THE VALUE OF A COMMON ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ; 3.2 THE SEAMLESS WEB ; 3.3 COMPLEX ADAPTIVE MARKET THEORY IN WIND POWER MARKET ANALYSIS ; 3.4 STEP ANALYSIS ; 3.5 THE POLITICAL SET MODEL ; 3.6 THE POLITICAL SET MODEL AND THE CASE STUDIES ; 3.7 TYING THEORY TO THE POLITICAL SET MODEL ; Chapter 4: Wind Power in Denmark ; 4.1 INTRODUCTION ; 4.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN DENMARK ; 4.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN DENMARK ; 4.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 4.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 4.4.2 Economic landscape ; 4.4.3 Technological landscape ; 4.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 4.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 4.5.2 Economic a Political ; 4.5.3 Technological a Political ; 4.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 4.6.1 National political structure ; 4.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 4.6.3 Fiscal health ; 4.6.4 Policy regime ; 4.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 4.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 5: Wind Power in Germany ; 5.1 INTRODUCTION ; 5.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN GERMANY ; 5.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN GERMANY ; 5.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 5.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 5.4.2 Economic landscape ; 5.4.3 Technological landscape ; 5.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 5.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 5.5.2 Economic a Political ; 5.5.3 Technological a Political ; 5.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 5.6.1 National political structure ; 5.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 5.6.3 Fiscal health ; 5.6.4 Policy regime ; 5.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 5.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 6: Wind Power in China ; 6.1 INTRODUCTION ; 6.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN CHINA ; 6.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA ; 6.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 6.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 6.4.2 Economic landscape ; 6.4.3 Technological landscape ; 6.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 6.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 6.5.2 Economic a Political ; 6.5.3 Technological a Political ; 6.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 6.6.1 National political structure ; 6.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 6.6.3 Fiscal health ; 6.6.4 Policy regime ; 6.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 6.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 7: Wind Power in the United States ; 7.1 INTRODUCTION ; 7.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN THE USA ; 7.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN THE USA ; 7.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 7.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 7.4.2 Economic landscape ; 7.4.3 Technological landscape ; 7.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 7.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 7.5.2 Economic a Political ; 7.5.3 Technological a Political ; 7.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 7.6.1 National political structure ; 7.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 7.6.3 Fiscal health ; 7.6.4 Policy regime ; 7.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 7.7.1 Political a Socio-cultural ; 7.7.2 Political a Economic ; 7.7.3 Political a Technological ; 7.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 8: Wind Power in Canada ; 8.1 INTRODUCTION ; 8.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN CANADA ; 8.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA ; 8.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 8.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 8.4.2 Economic landscape ; 8.4.3 Technological landscape ; 8.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 8.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 8.5.2 Economic a Political ; 8.5.3 Technological a Political ; 8.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 8.6.1 National political structure ; 8.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 8.6.3 Fiscal health ; 8.6.4 Policy regime ; 8.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 8.7.1 Political a Socio-cultural ; 8.7.2 Political a Economic ; 8.7.3 Political a Technological ; 8.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 9: Wind Power in Japan ; 9.1 INTRODUCTION ; 9.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN JAPAN ; 9.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN JAPAN ; 9.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 9.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 9.4.2 Economic landscape ; 9.4.3 Technological landscape ; 9.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 9.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 9.5.2 Economic a Political ; 9.5.3 Technological a Political ; 9.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 9.6.1 National political structure ; 9.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 9.6.3 Fiscal health ; 9.6.4 Policy regime ; 9.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 9.7.1 Political a Socio-cultural ; 9.7.2 Political a Economic ; 9.7.3 Political a Technological ; 9.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 10: Strategic Control over Wind Power Development Policy ; 10.1 INTRODUCTION ; 10.2 INFLUENTIAL SOCIAL FACTORS ; 10.3 INFLUENTIAL TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS ; 10.4 INFLUENTIAL ECONOMIC FACTORS ; 10.5 INFLUENTIAL POLITICAL FACTORS ; 10.6 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ; Chapter 11: Applied Policymaking ; 11.1 POLICY FORMULATION ; 11.2 UNDERSTANDING SYSTEM DYNAMICS ; 11.2.1 Economics is Still King ; 11.2.2 Chain Reactions Can Be Partially Managed ; 11.2.3 Favorable Conditions Still Need to Be Managed ; 11.2.4 First Mover Advantages Exist ; 11.2.4 Public Opposition Trumps Economic Impediments at High Levels of Installed Capacity ; 11.3 POLICY IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING ESSENTIALS ; 11.3.1 Malleability ; 11.3.2 Transparency and Broad Participation ; 11.3.3 Strategic Balance ; 11.3.4 Evolutionary Mindset ; 11.4 AVENUES OF FURTHER RESEARCH AND CONCLUSION

Scott Victor Valentine is Associate Professor in the Department of Public Policy and School of Environment and Energy at City University of Hong Kong.

If you must choose only one book to help understand the dynamics and potential of wind power in the contemporary energy mix, this is it. Valentine provides a succinct overview of the technologies and issues facing the sector and detailed cases studies of countries such as Germany, Denmark Canada, Japan, China and the United States which show the factors and variables which have resulted in some of these countries being world leaders in wind power and others laggards. This is a first class work, engaging and readable yet detailed and sophisticated in its approach and findings

• Table of Contents ; CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE ; 1.1 THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE ; 1. 2 ENERGY AND THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE ; 1. 3 ELECTRICITY AND THE GLOBAL IMPERATIVE ; 1.3.1 Electricity Generation Technologies ; 1.3.2 The Dynamics of Electricity Prices ; 1.4 ENERGY MARKET CHANGE & INDUSTRIALIZED NATIONS ; 1.4.1 Convergence and Alternative Energy ; 1.4.2 The Need for Speed ; 1.5 ENERGY MARKET CHANGE & DEVELOPING NATIONS ; 1.5.1 Economic Considerations ; 1.5.2 Economic Security Considerations ; 1.5.3 Economic Empowerment ; 1.5.4 Social Considerations ; 1.5.5 The Need for Speed ; 1.6 WHEN FORCES FOR SPEED MEET THE NEED FOR SPEED ; 1.7 THE DICHOTOMY OF ALTERNATIVE ENERGY ; 1.8 OBJECTIVES AND OUTLINE OF THIS BOOK ; CHAPTER 2: UNDERSTANDING WIND POWER SYSTEMS ; 2.1 THE IMPORTANCE OF UNDERSTANDING WIND POWER SYSTEMS ; 2.2 FEATURES OF WIND POWER SYSTEMS ; 2.2.1 Main Components of a Wind System ; 2.2.2 Innovation and Cost ; 2.2.3 Delivering Wind Power to the Grid ; 2.3 WIND POWER MANAGEMENT CHALLENGES ; 2.3.1 The Challenge of Matching Supply and Demand ; 2.3.2 Stochastic flows ; 2.4 ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS AND REALITIES ; 2.5 IMPAIRMENT OF EXISTING COMMUNITY ENDOWMENTS ; 2.5.1 Separating Perception from Fact ; 2.5.2 Perceptions Improve ; 2.5.3 Aesthetic Concerns Overshadow All Others ; 2.5.4 Beyond NIMBY Opposition ; 2.5.5 Overall Lessons in Regard to Community Opposition ; 2.5.6 Government Agency Opposition ; 2.6 IMPAIRMENT OF EXISTING ECOSYSTEMS ; 2.6.1 Bird Mortality ; 2.6.2 The Challenge of Estimating Bird Mortality ; 2.6.3 Degradation of Animal Habitat ; 2.6.4 Offshore Wind Farms and Ecological Concerns ; 2.6.5 The Importance of Environmental Impact Assessments ; 2.6.6 Aesthetics ; 2.7 CONCLUSION ; CHAPTER 3: THE POLICY SET MODEL ; 3.1 THE VALUE OF A COMMON ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ; 3.2 THE SEAMLESS WEB ; 3.3 COMPLEX ADAPTIVE MARKET THEORY IN WIND POWER MARKET ANALYSIS ; 3.4 STEP ANALYSIS ; 3.5 THE POLITICAL SET MODEL ; 3.6 THE POLITICAL SET MODEL AND THE CASE STUDIES ; 3.7 TYING THEORY TO THE POLITICAL SET MODEL ; Chapter 4: Wind Power in Denmark ; 4.1 INTRODUCTION ; 4.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN DENMARK ; 4.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN DENMARK ; 4.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 4.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 4.4.2 Economic landscape ; 4.4.3 Technological landscape ; 4.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 4.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 4.5.2 Economic a Political ; 4.5.3 Technological a Political ; 4.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 4.6.1 National political structure ; 4.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 4.6.3 Fiscal health ; 4.6.4 Policy regime ; 4.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 4.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 5: Wind Power in Germany ; 5.1 INTRODUCTION ; 5.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN GERMANY ; 5.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN GERMANY ; 5.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 5.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 5.4.2 Economic landscape ; 5.4.3 Technological landscape ; 5.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 5.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 5.5.2 Economic a Political ; 5.5.3 Technological a Political ; 5.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 5.6.1 National political structure ; 5.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 5.6.3 Fiscal health ; 5.6.4 Policy regime ; 5.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 5.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 6: Wind Power in China ; 6.1 INTRODUCTION ; 6.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN CHINA ; 6.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN CHINA ; 6.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 6.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 6.4.2 Economic landscape ; 6.4.3 Technological landscape ; 6.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 6.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 6.5.2 Economic a Political ; 6.5.3 Technological a Political ; 6.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 6.6.1 National political structure ; 6.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 6.6.3 Fiscal health ; 6.6.4 Policy regime ; 6.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 6.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 7: Wind Power in the United States ; 7.1 INTRODUCTION ; 7.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN THE USA ; 7.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN THE USA ; 7.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 7.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 7.4.2 Economic landscape ; 7.4.3 Technological landscape ; 7.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 7.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 7.5.2 Economic a Political ; 7.5.3 Technological a Political ; 7.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 7.6.1 National political structure ; 7.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 7.6.3 Fiscal health ; 7.6.4 Policy regime ; 7.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 7.7.1 Political a Socio-cultural ; 7.7.2 Political a Economic ; 7.7.3 Political a Technological ; 7.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 8: Wind Power in Canada ; 8.1 INTRODUCTION ; 8.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN CANADA ; 8.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN CANADA ; 8.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 8.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 8.4.2 Economic landscape ; 8.4.3 Technological landscape ; 8.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 8.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 8.5.2 Economic a Political ; 8.5.3 Technological a Political ; 8.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 8.6.1 National political structure ; 8.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 8.6.3 Fiscal health ; 8.6.4 Policy regime ; 8.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 8.7.1 Political a Socio-cultural ; 8.7.2 Political a Economic ; 8.7.3 Political a Technological ; 8.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 9: Wind Power in Japan ; 9.1 INTRODUCTION ; 9.2 AN OVERVIEW OF ELECTRICITY GENERATION IN JAPAN ; 9.3 HISTORY OF WIND POWER DEVELOPMENT IN JAPAN ; 9.4 UNDERSTANDING THE GENERAL FORCES FOR CHANGE ; 9.4.1 Socio-Cultural Landscape ; 9.4.2 Economic landscape ; 9.4.3 Technological landscape ; 9.5 INFLUENCES ON GOVERNMENT POLICY ; 9.5.1 Socio-Cultural a Political ; 9.5.2 Economic a Political ; 9.5.3 Technological a Political ; 9.6 POLITICAL INFLUENCES ON POLICY ; 9.6.1 National political structure ; 9.6.2 Governing party ideology ; 9.6.3 Fiscal health ; 9.6.4 Policy regime ; 9.7 THE CULMINATION OF INFLUENCES ; 9.7.1 Political a Socio-cultural ; 9.7.2 Political a Economic ; 9.7.3 Political a Technological ; 9.8 WHAT TO EXPECT GOING FORWARD ; Chapter 10: Strategic Control over Wind Power Development Policy ; 10.1 INTRODUCTION ; 10.2 INFLUENTIAL SOCIAL FACTORS ; 10.3 INFLUENTIAL TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS ; 10.4 INFLUENTIAL ECONOMIC FACTORS ; 10.5 INFLUENTIAL POLITICAL FACTORS ; 10.6 CONCLUDING THOUGHTS ; Chapter 11: Applied Policymaking ; 11.1 POLICY FORMULATION ; 11.2 UNDERSTANDING SYSTEM DYNAMICS ; 11.2.1 Economics is Still King ; 11.2.2 Chain Reactions Can Be Partially Managed ; 11.2.3 Favorable Conditions Still Need to Be Managed ; 11.2.4 First Mover Advantages Exist ; 11.2.4 Public Opposition Trumps Economic Impediments at High Levels of Installed Capacity ; 11.3 POLICY IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING ESSENTIALS ; 11.3.1 Malleability ; 11.3.2 Transparency and Broad Participation ; 11.3.3 Strategic Balance ; 11.3.4 Evolutionary Mindset ; 11.4 AVENUES OF FURTHER RESEARCH AND CONCLUSION