The purpose of this article is to broadly identify competing interests at stake in wind energy conversion systems (WECS) development and the potential constraints of local, state, and federal regulation and common law principles on the siting of WECS. First, the article addresses common law and regulatory means of facilitating wind energy development by protecting the WECS developer\u27s interest in unobstructed wind flow. Second, it examines the potential restriction of WECS development by common law and regulatory responses to the demands of neighbors and the general public whose interests may be detrimentally affected by wind turbine operation