Contributed by Darden Copeland, Calvert Street Group
I remember the phone call well.
I had spoken to the solar developer just a few months prior, asking whether my firm might be able to help them get a project sited in Virginia. The project was near Fredericksburg, VA, where I grew up and knew the community well. I thought my firm might be able to help the developer win support and a positive rezoning vote from the county supervisors, but he told me the project was in good shape.
Clearly, something had changed. The developer was only a few weeks away from a crucial vote and support for his project from the local board of supervisors was crumbling due to opposition from residents of a wealthy subdivision near the project site. They were pouring money into an anti-solar campaign and were gaining traction. The project, into which millions of dollars had already been invested, was in a ditch and we didn’t have much time to pull it out.
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For my team, it was “all hands on deck.” Using campaign tactics many of us had implemented before in politics, we started to generate support for solar. We used social media, direct mail, phone banks and door-to-door canvassing to activate people who felt the tax dollars generated by the solar project would benefit their community. We built a coalition to let supporters know it was okay to be vocal and call their supervisor to express that support. We “got the talk right” about the project and made elected officials feel good about supporting it. The rezoning was approved following a full effort three-week campaign.
We’re discovering the headwinds faced by the Virginia project aren’t unique. Our firm has worked on more than 3.5 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in dozens of states and NIMBYs have solar and wind projects firmly in their crosshairs. Hundreds of restrictive ordinances or state laws have been passed in states like Ohio, Iowa, Indiana, and others, and more are coming. In 2021 alone, 13 solar and 31 wind projects have been blocked by local governments. Fighting anti-solar and -wind NIMBYs has now become the largest part of my company’s work.
The opposition renewable developers are facing has been active, in some cases, for nearly a decade. National renewable industry associations can point to more than 200 individuals and organizations across the country developing and financing active opposition to renewables development. Dark money “think tanks” operating in multiple states spotlight successful local campaigns to block or delay projects, giving the impression renewable opponents are gaining traction.
In June 2022, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology analyzed 53 separate utility-scale renewables projects delayed or blocked by local opposition, looking for commonalities. Ironically, in more than half the projects, opponents raised environmental concerns, arguing wind, solar or geothermal development would have a negative impact on wildlife. A negative impact on property values was also a leading cause of opposition. In fact, a handful of real estate appraisers across the country have now become
frequent contacts for opponents seeking to prove renewable development leads to property value declines.
In our work in renewable energy, there are some lessons I’ve learned that might benefit your project.
First, start early to build relationships. Too many developers put their focus on land acquisition and negotiating power purchase agreements and put community outreach far down the priority list. That’s a mistake. The rumor mill will start the day you sign your first lease, especially in a rural community. Joining the chamber of commerce or a civic club can help build bridges that you may need down the road.
Second, opponents to renewable energy are getting smarter. NIMBYs communicate with each other and share information via social media. They know how to access “experts” who can provide them with anti-renewable messaging. There is no shortage of advocates with opaque sources of funding who will help them get organized and bring pressure on elected officials. The old political axiom that “if you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu” applies here.
Third, communities may support mitigating climate change generally, but local support comes down to “what’s in it for me?” If tax abatements are involved, you may face opposition from “corporate welfare” opponents. More likely, messages about how tax revenues will benefit local school districts or first responders will win support. Telling farmers the planting of native grasses will attract pollinators that make crops more productive may help counter concerns about taking land out of production.
In the end, it’s probably not wise to expect your local land agent or your lobbyist to win hearts and minds. They have a specific job to do and engaging broad swaths of the community doesn’t generally fall within their scope of services. Giving local elected officials the cover to support your project likely starts from the grassroots up, not the top down. Starting that process a few weeks before an expected vote isn’t likely to yield the result you want.
About the author
Darden Copeland is the Managing Director of Calvert Street Group, a consulting firm focused on managing and winning political and corporate land-use campaigns. Copeland has managed over 400 public affairs campaigns in multiple industries across 46 states and has received 24 awards for organizing and campaign excellence from the American Association of Political Consultants.
