How to stick up for renewable energy projects near you

Canary Media’s Electrified Life column shares real-world tales, tips, and insights to demystify what individuals can do to shift their homes and communities to clean electric power.

Last year, Coles County, Illinois was debating whether to kill a proposed wind farm. Dorothy Macy wanted to speak up in support of the project — but she had serious self-doubts. 

“‘There are people better than me, … people that can speak to county boards, and they’re good at it,’” Macy recalled thinking at the time. ​“But I care. I decided, ​‘I can do this.’”

So Macy, a retired educator who has called the area home for 30 years, pushed aside her nerves and teamed up with about a dozen others to advocate for the roughly 300-megawatt development. Last July, at a public hearing, she asked the county board to approve the special permit for Coles Wind.

Macy reminded the officials as well as several community opponents in the audience that the wind farm would deliver a windfall. Over the project’s 30-year lifespan, developer Apex Clean Energy expects it to generate over $81 million in taxes, including more than $43 million for school districts.

“This is [a] new revenue source that will provide money for our Charleston public schools,” Macy, whose own children went through that school system, said in her testimony. ​“And it will keep my taxes down.”

Macy’s voice may have helped get Coles Wind across the finish line. Shortly after the public hearing, the county board voted 6–5 to approve the project permit.

A few months later, Macy showed up again before the county board to support the 210-MW Glacier Moraine Solar project. After initially shooting down the permit, the board made a U-turn in October. Both the wind and solar projects are now under construction.

Macy got out of her comfort zone to voice support for clean energy in her community. As opposition to solar, wind, and battery projects grows in pockets across the United States, that kind of determination matters more than ever.

Why stand up for clean energy in your community

Local permitting is the biggest bottleneck to reducing planet-heating emissions from the power sector, said Matt Traldi, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Greenlight America, which galvanizes grassroots support for clean energy projects. Nearly one in four counties in the U.S. restrict renewables development. And disinformation on how they impact farmland, human health, wildlife, and more spreads on social media, stoking fears in rural communities, where the majority of these projects get proposed.

Although carbon-free energy is necessary to avert the worst of the climate crisis, that motivation often isn’t what’s driving decision-makers. ​“Local governments are not deciding ​‘Is climate change real?’ And they’re not even deciding ​‘Is clean energy good?’” Traldi said. ​“They’re deciding ​‘Should we build this thing here?’” And that calculus, he notes, is based on ​“What do our constituents want? And will I get reelected if I say yes to this?”

Roughly half of Americans support solar and wind projects in their area, according to an April survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. But opponents are typically the loudest voices in the room. And while the opposition knows it needs to organize if it wants to stop a project, Traldi said, supporters are often unaware that if they don’t show up, clean energy loses by forfeit.

Just a few individuals turning up at hearings can tip the scales in favor of renewables, Traldi noted: Five or 10 people can take a project from ​“political suicide” to something that could ​“sail through.”

Advocating for local renewables is also one of the biggest opportunities for climate action that an individual can take. Greenlight America calculated that a 270-MW solar project is the emissions equivalent of taking 44,000 gas-powered cars off the road.

“You might think one of the biggest decisions you can make is switching to an EV,” Traldi said. If you’re one of five people that tip the scales at a hearing, ​“it’s like you do that almost 10,000 times.”

Ready to boost renewables in your community? Here’s some expert advice.

Keep an ear to the ground for proposed solar, wind, and battery projects.

You might hear about a clean energy proposal in the local newspaper, on the TV or radio, at the library, or on a city or county website. Or it may be all your neighbors can talk about, in person or online in local Facebook groups and Nextdoor posts. Especially important is to look for when there will be hearings where you can advocate for a project.

Find or create a pro-renewables posse. 

Macy in Coles County didn’t go it alone. She was already in touch with local organizer Cindy Shepherd, green team director at the environmental organization Faith in Place, who encouraged Macy to speak up for the wind and solar farm projects. 

To find opportunities to support clean energy projects near you, you can fill out Greenlight America’s ​“Ask an organizer” online form. You could also connect with one (or more) of the environmental groups that partner with the nonprofit: League of Conservation Voters, The Climate Reality Project, Solar United Neighbors, and Third Act all have local and state chapters across the country.

When Larisa Mednis, advocacy coordinator at Pennsylvania nonprofit Clean Air Council, learns of a renewable energy project and wants to rally supporters, she calls and texts area members. She also contacts several partner grassroots organizations, such as the Environmental Integrity Project, the Beaver County Marcellus Awareness Coalition, and Veterans Power America, to organize local advocates. But ​“it’s amazing when people reach out proactively,” she said.

Learn about the renewable energy project.

You don’t have to be exhaustive; you’ll just want to be able to communicate why you support the project. How big will it be? Where will it be sited? And, importantly, what are the expected benefits to the community? You can typically find this information on a website set up by the developer or by contacting a company representative directly, or by talking with landholders interested in hosting the infrastructure.

Write your speech for public meetings.

It’s easier than whipping up a sponge cake. Macy says these are the key ingredients:

• Thank the board. 

• State your position.

• Back up your position.

• State your position again at the end.

Simple, right? For examples of prepared speeches, check out the ones Macy drafted (with Shepherd’s help) in support of her local wind and solar projects.

Mednis finds that the arguments that seem to resonate most with leaders and communities are the economic benefits of solar and wind projects, and personal property rights. ​“A lot of these projects are sited on private land,” she said. ​“Farmers who lease their land can get some steady income from that.”

For more tips, check out the nonpartisan Public Interest Network’s primer on public comments and Greenlight America’s DIY guide on boosting clean energy projects.

Listen to people’s concerns — and educate them.

If someone is violently opposed to a project, you’re probably not going to change their mind. But others may have specific concerns that you can address.

“Listen before you talk,” said Jeff Risley, executive director of Renewable Energy Farmers of America, a nonprofit landowners association. ​“Ask [opponents] questions. Ask them what their real concerns are. … Empathize with them that you know this is a change.” Then you can start to provide information that will help them see your position, he said.

For myth-busting evidence, Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change has put together a handy list of rebuttals that cut through the most common false claims about clean energy.

If you want to support renewable energy in your community, but the thought of speaking up about a project before county officials fills you with dread, Macy has a message for you.

“I felt just like you feel right now, before I did it for the very first time with the Apex wind project,” Macy said. But she reminded herself then, ​“If I believe in this, I’m going to have to say something.”

You’re in the same boat, Macy said. ​“If you really want this to happen, you can’t be quiet.”