Case Study two: traditional outreach

CHALLENGE

The Land & Liberty Coalition’s main objective in each state is to identify and build relationships with local members of each community in which there are proposed projects. One of the biggest challenges we face, is getting over the hurdle of opposition. Most likely, there is a group of individuals in each community who oppose this sort of development. They are often very vocal in their opposition and can create a hiccup for developers, planners, and stakeholders alike. We work with local folks - who don’t seek to directly benefit from the proposed project - to share their stories about why they support the proposed project coming into their community.

TACTICS

  • Organize group of supporters (outside of landowners) to support development and combat opposition.

  • Leverage this support to attend meetings, make their voice heard, and share their stories.

  • Develop materials for supporters to use in their testimony (t-shirts, fact sheets, bullet-points, etc.)

  • Film hundreds of hours of testimony (good and bad) to share with industry partners, stakeholders, and local media members.

  • Coordinate logistics (travel, information sharing, color scheme (pic. 1), etc.) for supporters.

  • Work with existing community groups (Local Chambers, Economic Developers, Faith-based groups, Outdoors(y) groups) to build this grassroots coalition of supporters.

  • Provided relentless positive commentary during permitting process; commission meetings, online, and in-person.

IMPACT

  • Generated widespread support for projects across the State of Indiana (see pictures to left)

  • Helped to secure local permits for 6 wind projects representing 1030 MW, and one 200 MW of solar in Indiana; and 3 wind projects representing 655 MW and 2 solar projects representing 439 MW in Michigan.

  • Raised awareness of the siting issue and the problems the industry is facing across the Midwest.

  • Positioned ourselves and supporters as local thought leaders by educating local board members and the public on the economic, conservation, grid security, and national security benefits of clean energy and energy efficiency.

  • Most importantly, developed a relationship with members of each community.

    • Folks in these communities like The Land & Liberty Coalition because it offers something different than other groups who have tried this in the past.

    • We use simple language folks can understand and help walk them through any questions, comments and concerns they have along the way.

    • That builds trust - and trust is key. In turn, these relationships create a strong group of supporters that can’t be phased by baseless attacks and false facts.