How collaboration can enhance public support of renewable energy

it’s

2021 and we are watching our world

burn literally

our fossil fuel intensive lifestyles

increasing global temperatures

which is leading to changes in our

hydrologic systems

and atmospheric circulation the altar

conditions will continue to amplify

temperature extremes drought flooding

and storms and the consequences of

climate change

are not only detrimental to ecosystems

but also jeopardize

infrastructure agricultural production

clean water access

energy access and human health

disproportionately affecting low-income

communities

and people of color this is the future

that my generation and generations to

come have been dealt

and if actions aren’t taken now to

change the course that we’re headed

we will have to live with the

irreversible damage

and that’s not a fate i’m ready to

accept

fortunately there is hope on the horizon

renewable technologies such as onshore

wind turbines and photovoltaic solar

arrays are well

established solutions that can

decarbonize our energy sector

and work toward mitigating climate

change

so far hundreds of local governments and

almost 15

states have committed to powering their

communities with 100 renewable energy

the aspiration for a zero emission grid

has even been discussed at the national

level

unfortunately there are many challenges

that still need to be

understood and addressed to bring this

goal to fruition

one of increasing importance that i’m

going to shed light on today

is a lack of support from host needs

research has shown that wind and solar

energy

are accepted by the public in theory but

encounter

project impeding resistance during

development

states all over the u.s have experienced

postponements or cancellations of

renewable energy projects due to public

opposition

this discrepancy between high support

for renewable energy in a general sense

and a low support for renewable energy

on the ground

is described as the social gap

evidence that suggests that the social

gap results from project proposal

proposals failing to meet people’s

conditions for acceptable development

which usually entail context-specific

measures that limit

impacts on the local residents and

environment

incompatible project proposals can be

linked back to the reliance on

conventional public processes

that tend to put the community members

in the backseat of decision making

not allowing them to tailor the project

to meet their qualifications

instead the process typically involves

government officials working on the

sidelines with renewable energy

developers

to make a decision announce it to the

public

and then defend any criticisms that come

forth

community members can get frustrated by

this approach because there’s no real

opportunity to contribute

by the time they are invited to get

involved the decision has already been

made

and more often than not it’s an outcome

that is best suited

for the officials and developers and

less so for the public

this decide announced defend model is a

manifestation of hierarchical decision

making that

superficially permits public input

citizens that are unable to meaningfully

participate in the public process

may take drastic measures such as

protests petitions or even

legal actions to get their voice heard

not only

is this unproductive because it can

derail

progress towards a clean energy future

but it can also cause

community division and distrust in

leaders

the thing is it doesn’t have to be this

way

most decision makers just follow this

format because it’s the minimum they

have to do

to involve the public according to the

law

but they can and should do more

the public process needs to be revamped

to put the community members in the

driver’s seat so that they

can set the bar for the type of

renewable development that they prefer

or at least willing to live with gratia

county michigan

has turned this idea into reality

in the summer of 2012 133 wind turbines

went online in the county

spain over 30 000 acres of agricultural

land

though the gratiot county wind firm is

the largest wind farm in michigan to

date

it is also one of the most highly

supported projects in the state

the story of gratiot county starts and

ends in collaboration

ever since the 1970s gratiot county has

engaged residents

businesses and municipalities to come

together and efficiently plan strategies

to promote economic development

the 2008 recession hit the area

particularly hard which had the

county scrambling to find ways to

improve the local economy

at the same time the wind industry in

the u.s was booming

seeing a potential opportunity county

officials reverted to their

collaborative routes

to start a conversation with the greater

community to see if

and how wind energy could fit in ratchet

as this idea was considered consultants

were brought in to provide people with

as

much information as possible to clarify

unknowns

or resolve misunderstandings about wind

energy the community

expressed interest in potentially having

a wind farm in the area

but not unconditionally the government

officials were cognizant of this as they

move forward in creating a win zoning

ordinance

making the process fully transparent to

identify

and accommodate any public concerns

widespread notices for the ordinance

meetings were made through newspapers

radio and the internet plus the county

leveraged its connections with the

townships and chamber of commerce to

further spread the word

this widely disseminated information

grabbed people’s attention

and resulted in 300 or more citizens

showing up at any one of the 20-plus

meetings

each one of these individuals was given

the opportunity to help craft the wind

ornaments

participants self-organized into groups

on topics that they cared about

and were responsible for coming up with

recommendations

the products of this were the driving

influence for what the executive

committee of planning

turned into a legitimate zoning

ordinance and not long after the

ordinance was finalized

the aforementioned gracious county wind

farm was proposed and unanimously

approved

by the four townships it spanned

in the spirit of community engagement

every resident in the project area was

presented the chance to partake in a

pooling easement

which pretty much granted participants a

lease payment even if they did not host

a wind turbine on their property

this initiative was well received with

250 families volunteering to sign up

needless to say the launching of gracie

county’s

first wind farm was a huge success wind

energy has become a part of the

community’s pride

ever since so much so that there has

been a welcome

expansion of even more wind farms over

time

currently gratiot county has 345 wind

turbines and counting

now the actions of this rural michigan

community

offer three key lessons about how to

implement an effective

public process first

is start early in this case people were

encouraged to actively participate in

the creation of the win zoning ordinance

setting the regulations for wind

development is the earliest part of the

decision making process

and this is where citizens need to be

heavily involved

because at this stage citizens can

affect change

allowing the community to essentially

reflect their conditions for renewable

energy development into the rule of the

land

is the best way to send a clear message

to developers

about exactly what kind of projects the

community will accept

not only does this practice safeguard

the community from ill-suited projects

but it also prevents developers from

wasting time and resources

on a proposal that may be a lost cause

second is get participants

in gratia county there were hundreds of

people that were engaged early on

the more voices at the table the more

perspectives that can be considered in

the decision-making which can lead to

better outcomes

the high volume of participants was a

result of government officials doing

more than just the legal requirements

for public notice

they broadcast opportunities for

involvement through every avenue that

they knew had

this increased awareness raising helped

increase attendance

government officials that are willing to

get creative and go beyond the business

as usual methods will likely have a

better

turnout and third empower

the community ratchet county leaders put

the public in charge from

the get-go citizens had decision-making

roles of their choosing that allowed

them to shape elements of the wind

ornaments

not only did they have ownership of

those decisions but they also had a

physical sense of ownership

by signing up for the pulling easement

people who have some sort of personal

tie to a project are more likely to want

to see it succeed

not to mention that the main critique of

the standard public meeting format

is that the public can provide input but

nothing

is immediately done with it so instead

giving people a voice and acting on it

can make all the difference for how the

community perceives the project outcomes

as well as the local leaders

now just to be clear the use of

collaborative public processes may have

little effect on those who are

ideologically opposed to renewable

energy

instead these processes can help

proactively identify people’s

pre-existing notions of good energy

projects

and avoid finding out the hard way what

people won’t tolerate

grass accounting demonstrates a shining

example of how to make the most out of

the public process

by shifting away from the mindset of

what do i have to do toward

what is going to work and what works for

community engagement and renewable

energy siding

must be explored and taught by academics

supported by politicians implemented by

practitioners

and demanded by the public

in doing so we will no longer be just

spectators of climate change

but rather we’ll be the ones putting out

the fire

thank you