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