The Importance of Including Rural Voices in Renewable Energy Decisions

The voice of rural community members is often viewed as excess noise when siting and permitting renewable energy projects; instead of being seen as an asset, these voices tend to be feared by developers.  

The President/Owner of GSC, Mariah Lynne, had a front-row view of this noise and fear (miscommunication) during the siting and permitting of the Freeborn Wind Farm, the project that inevitably launched Good Steward Consulting into the renewable energy sector. Living adjacent to an existing wind farm in the county, she saw first-hand the benefits wind farming brought to her community, both through landowner payments and tax revenue.  

While she was excited to hear about a new project coming to her county in a 2018 conversation with the Freeborn Wind Farm developer, she was quickly disappointed to learn about the developer's treatment since arrival in the area and the shocking amount of opposition to the opportunity presented. She began to observe and study communication patterns in a quest to figure out where the disconnect was. 

"What we saw and what the industry has experienced, is you have large public affairs firms out of very metro areas, trying to handle rural communications. And a lot of times that falls on deaf ears, because rural America, rural Americans, tend to be more open to communication from (and more trusting of) peers. We use a peer-to-peer communication methodology where everything that we communicate is done for the rural audience by rural communication experts" said Lynne in a 2019 interview with PV Magazine.  

This is where GSC steps in, reframing vital information and messaging from ‘corporate talk’ to ‘rural talk’. 

There is a significant amount of miscommunication and misunderstanding on both sides regarding the development of a renewable energy project in rural America. Renewable energy developers may perceive themselves as a “white knight” coming in to “save” the community, which can immediately put a bad taste in a community's mouth. These communities are proud of their history. An incoming solar, wind, and/or battery energy storage project will be placed directly on what holds that history: the land. Land that has been passed down from generation to generation; land that withstood droughts and floods, has produced good crop yields, and lived to tell the story of the bad years. It’s sentimental not only to those who own the land, but to those surrounding it who have heard the tales of its perseverance. The fear often surrounds the land being harmed or taken away. However, renewable projects are voluntary participation; no landowner is forced to sign into a project.  

Instead, landowners and communities have the opportunity to collaborate with energy project developments to address quality-of-life concerns and other important considerations. Landowners also hold substantial negotiating power and bear key responsibilities regarding leases, easements, and other legal agreements related to energy projects on their land. But, a community cannot collaborate with a developer who is unwilling to listen to them, hear their concerns, and address their questions. 

Effective collaboration, open communication, and active engagement from all stakeholders are crucial for addressing concerns and achieving outcomes that benefit everyone involved. It is essential for project developers to engage with the community, not just County Commissioners, the Mayor, the Director of the local Economic Development Association, but also with the science teacher, the manager of the local coffee shop, the retired hardware store owner, and others. Having productive discussions with the movers and shakers of a community will help establish trust while also providing insight into the history and thought process of the host community. 

A developer should know about that time Olivia Newton John was the Grand Marshall of the parade, that Garth Brooks performed at the local county fair, that the town is the snowiest in America, that it is the ‘Hobo Capital of the World’ or that the city is celebrating its quadricentennial soon — these are all examples of accolades that real towns we’ve worked in are proud of. Developers should also be aware of the types of crops farmed, the products manufactured, the types of livestock produced, the name of the local grocery store, the location of the closest Walmart, the mascot of the local school system, the dates of homecoming and the city celebration, and other relevant information regarding the community they are developing a project in.  

Developers should stay in the host community, or as close as possible, when working in the project location or while attending meetings. They should eat in the community and spend some recreational time there, getting to know the people and the uniqueness of the area. Establishing relationships goes a long way in making a project successful. Developers showing that they care about what happens to these communities and the people versus only being there when they must get leases signed can make a monumental difference in how a community perceives the development company and their staff. Knowing what makes a community tick and being able to engage in conversations about what is important to them is crucial for an outsider to be welcomed and accepted in conversations that bring something new to the town.  

The renewable energy industry has long known the benefits our projects bring to rural communities. In some rural counties, renewable energy has become the leading source of new economic activity, helping to stabilize local economies that have traditionally depended on agriculture’s often unpredictable income. Renewable energy projects can be the largest single tax paying entity in the county. For example, Howard County, Iowa, welcomed its first wind farm in 2008. Today, the county is home to 147 wind turbines with a combined capacity of 244 megawatts, enough to power approximately 50,000 homes. The turbines have a total taxable valuation of just over $115 million, generating $2.7 million in tax revenue last year. This accounts for 14.5 percent of the county’s total tax revenue. As a rural county with a small population and limited commercial development, Howard County previously faced significant infrastructure challenges. Budget constraints had forced the county to abandon bridges and roads, with the Secondary Roads Department able to replace only one or two bridges per year.  

No solar project or wind farm, like the one in Howard County, will be devoid of all opposition. Someone, somewhere, will be upset about the “new thing” coming into town. However, these crucial conversations will help mitigate the impact of opposition and garner support for these new projects which will have positive and long-lasting benefits for the community. 

 The voice of rural communities is essential, whether locally permitted or permitted via a state process - everyone’s voice is heard and all comments matter. Trust is everything, especially in rural communities, and inviting stakeholders to the table when planning, siting, permitting, and constructing renewable energy projects is absolutely crucial. It is what GSC is known for. It is what we do, and we love being the link that brings project developers and communities together.