WINDPOWER, Part 3

The Wind and Public Perspectives:

It was good to hear Susan Williams Sloan, Outreach Manager for Wind Energy Works!, present the findings to a recent AWEA poll. The poll found that wind energy is still popular. 75% of those surveyed favored a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES). So, that's good news, but we still have some work to do to keep wind in a positive light. It's easy to find negative opinions concerning wind energy, but beware of recycled myths that are floating around out there about wind. Sloan gave the example of a USA Today story which said that renewable energy was responsible for higher electric costs. Sloan was quick to point out that there are many studies that have been done that show that this just isn't true.

What can we do to make sure that wind energy continues to grow? Well much of the answer lies in energy policy. Sloan pointed out that energy is a policy driven industry. Given that fact, its obvious that we must stay on top of whats going in the legislature and contact our representatives, asking them to support things like a national RES.

The first step in keeping wind energy is to keep the public educated. Marion Trieste, GEOS Global, LLC, offered several basic topics that should be considered when promoting wind development. Those included that wind is emissions free, fuel free, not subject to outside factors and therefore offers a predictable price, and an economic development tool (bringing much needed activity to rural economies that are struggling). One of Trieste's main points was the landowners are the key. Without landowner support wind energy development won't be able to progress. Grassroots groups can help landowners get together to have a louder voice when it comes to supporting wind development.

The last point I want to make for this post concerns the power that landowner associations can have in these type of situations. Johnna Bruhn with the Coalition of Renewable Energy Landowner Associations said that developing a landowner association can help combat the overall lack of trust that many landowners tend to have when dealing with developers. A landowner association provides landowners with strength in numbers, collective bargaining power, the opportunity to stay informed and the ability to avoid dividing communities.

It all boils down to staying informed and prepared for what might come your way.