Powering Past 'NIMBY'

The New York Times reports that it is preventing homeowners from installing renewable energy equipment that would allow them to take advantage of scores of emerging utility, tax and other incentives for small-scale renewable energy deployment. The Wall Street Journal notes that even as technology, investment and public opinion line up behind wider integration of renewable energy technologies, it stands as a path-blocking obstacle on projects of all sizes, everywhere in the country. And, here on his REW blog and on the Inside Renewable Energy podcast, Stephen Lacey visited a coastal Maine island where it had stopped progress on a project for years.

"It" is public opposition. Know by many names and acronyms (NIMBY: Not in my backyard; LULU: Locally undesirable land use; and, BANANA: Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anybody), public opposition has emerged as perhaps the most challenging obstacle to broader integration and deployment of renewable energy in the US.

The media coverage is not news to industry insiders and project proponents - nearly all of whom will tell you a story of the sinking feeling they had when they realized that even with the best equipment, design, location and financing, their project was about to be held up by local zoning based on entrenched community-based opposition. Still, even as these solar and wind project developers have learned the lesson the hard way, the mainstream reporting of community-based opposition (often maligned as mere NIMBYism) is significant in two ways.

First, the public is being put on notice and as word spreads, project developers can only expect more coordination, a calcifying of opposition and a professionalization of techniques for delay. Second, investors are getting wise, and more often are demanding due diligence and strategic planning to counteract community-based opposition and ensure that the return on their investment is not sacrificed to costly delays, litigation and mitigation.

What those mainstream media reports have not indicated is, how do successful projects manage community opposition? As renewable energy investors survey an increasingly-crowded field, they are looking for projects that promise to bring power to market quickly, granting first access to the market for renewable power that is demanded by state-level renewable portfolio standards and committing capacity for much sought-after long-term contracts with utilities.

As the renewable energy industry matures, the kinship that once marked green power advocates is being replaced by competition for market share, and the competitive advantage will go to those projects that are prepared to strategically counter and tactically manage community opposition.

Join us throughout the week as EnergyWorks CR - the newest member of Renewable Energy World's team of bloggers - brings you a capsule of the most effective model for powering past NIMBY. Check back each day as the next step in the EnergyWorks model is discussed in detail, complete with case studies and vignettes that will help industry professionals and project proponents to gauge their level of preparedness for dealing with community-based opposition.

Learn how identification of potential opponents - and allies - should guide your project planning; gain a better understanding of how early engagement can change the tenor of opposition; get tips on integrating "third voices" from the broader community to help prevent polarization; learn how to position your project on a broad field that includes climate change, economic benefit and other benefits that go beyond profit; discover how to keep conversations on-track by preparing professional responses to oft-cited specious lines of argument; and, understand how fostering community conversations that emphasize consensus-first will lead to a more satisfying result for all parties.

In-depth analysis begins on Monday afternoon, and will continue throughout the week.

For a longer form example of the kind of insight you can expect, take a look at EnergyWorks' white paper, exploring one alternative course to permitting that is offered in Massachusetts. In the case of the residential wind project that the New York Times reported on today, Massachusetts law offers project developers an opportunity to bypass local zoning altogether - and, as such, the subsequent appeals - and seek construction permission from state regulators directly. In many states, where those state officials are also crafting the renewable energy policies and programs, developers may find a much more welcoming response; but, the history of use of the exemption shows a clear bias to projects that have engaged in a community process of the kind reflected by the EnergyWorks model.

Join us all week, post your comments and get involved in the discussion - not about NIMBY, but about powering your project past it.

Photo Credits: Rainbow turbine; Solar PV Sunset; Hydro Dam in Iceland