Discourses and Beliefs: Politics of Coalition in the US Wind Energy Policymaking

• In Event: Bureaucracy and Policy Dynamics: A Comparative Perspective

Abstract

Wind energy is critical to the energy transition due to its lower carbon impact, technological advancement and resulting cost competitiveness. Nevertheless, US wind power production is associated with intense policy conflict among diverse stakeholders regarding the socioeconomic and environmental impacts. Recent developments, such as the Biden Administration’s changes to energy policy and power outages in Texas, exacerbate the debate. Yet, research that uses the policy process lens to analyze the political dynamics and conflicts on wind energy policy remains limited. This study aims to fill this knowledge gap by exploring what types of discourse coalitions are present in the US wind energy policy process, and how they change over time. To achieve this objective, we use the Advocacy Coalition Framework as a theoretical tool to analyze the US wind power policy discourse and coalition formation. We also embrace and connect the lessons from the literature in discourse coalitions. The data were obtained by coding approximately 240 newspaper articles spanning four years (2019-2022), and Discourse Network Analysis and statistical techniques were applied. We find i) different discursive frames around policy beliefs on problems, causes, and solutions, ii) variations of discourse coalitions depending on political and environmental events, and iii) a relationship between policy beliefs and explicitly expressed discourses. This study theoretically contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of discourse in US wind energy policies by explicitly identifying different policy positions and discourse coalitions around problems, causes, and solutions. The study methodologically solidifies the utility of news media analysis in understanding trends and patterns in policy processes.

Authors

• Aerang Nam

• Linlang He

• Alex Osei-Kojo, University of Tennessee