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Public Acceptance? Nuon’s experience in the UK Piers Guy – Head of Development, Nuon UK

EWEC 2009. Public Acceptance? Nuon’s experience in the UK Piers Guy – Head of Development, Nuon UK. 18 th March 2009. Nuon in the UK. Nuon UK is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Dutch Utility company n.v. Nuon

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Public Acceptance? Nuon’s experience in the UK Piers Guy – Head of Development, Nuon UK

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  1. EWEC 2009 Public Acceptance?Nuon’s experience in the UK Piers Guy – Head of Development, Nuon UK 18th March 2009

  2. Nuon in the UK • Nuon UK is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Dutch Utility company n.v. Nuon • We are active in wind farm development, construction and operation in the UK Market. • Development portfolio of around 700 MW including the Pen y Cymoedd project, the largest proposed onshore project in England and Wales at 300MW. Parc Cynog, Wales Wind farm open day

  3. National Surveys – the Real Picture? • National surveys consistently put public acceptance of wind energy at 70-80% • But when a wind farm is actually proposed….often this is where things start to go wrong • Once it is public knowledge there is good chance that a protest anti wind farm group will form or an existing one will begin a campaign against the wind farm • These campaigns mean significant delays and costs and certainly threaten the wind industry’s ability to help deliver the CO2 reductions required

  4. Campaign to Limit Onshore Windfarm Developments “Turbine accidents, fragmented blades, ice build-up on blades and fire risk could all pose danger to people using the amenities of the area such as horse riders and the thousands of campers who enjoy recreation in the immediate area at Santa Pod.”

  5. VORTEXWIND FARM ACTION GROUP Veto On Rural Turbine EXpansion • Join us, help us to fight for our rights and to stop the needless desecration of our countryside. • THE COUNTRYSIDE IS NOT RENEWABLE • WE NEED YOUR DONATIONS NOW!

  6. “Your health may be at risk.” “There is a report done by The University of Essex entitled ' Wind turbines, flicker and photosensitive epilepsy' to read this report click here”

  7. Don’t under estimate them! Should developers be worried? YES!

  8. The “anti” group cannot be allowed to gather the support of the mainstream community – how do you stop them? Community Engagement People don’t know that much amount about wind power Put yourself in their shoes…… If it was in your community how would you like to be consulted? A proper engagement plan cannot be an afterthought it needs to be an integral part of the whole project development process

  9. Engagement process • Research Start at an early stage researching local communities – the history, local issues, influential people, local groups • Inform Take the time to get to know the community. Tell people what you are planning, your program and what the community can expect from you. Tell people what is up for discussion, what they can influence.

  10. Engagement process • Explain Information must be easily understood, facts need to be correct and preferably referenced to independent bodies. Be open and non defensive • Involve Designing/developing a wind energy project is an iterative process – involve them in that process instead of trying to sell it to them at the end! This approach will make the job of anti wind farm groups much more difficultand help keep the mainstream of people with you

  11. Nuon’s Experience If you offer people a real, genuine opportunity to contribute, over a reasonable length of time they come back with constructive, useful comments Local knowledge is key – you learn people’s “bottom line” very quickly Understanding increases – people know where you’re coming from They start to see the wind farm project as a whole, balance and understand the issues themselves, and make their own mind up on the final project, which they’ve helped shape

  12. Community benefits The wind is free but it is a local resource – community benefits schemes can be seen way of recognising that local resource OR they can be seen as bribery! -Can you go the extra distance to deliver local benefits – how much effort are you willing to put in? - Local benefits, properly delivered can really help secure local acceptance – e.g. Jobs, scholarships, ownership, funding for energy efficiency - But do not promise unless you can deliver the benefits

  13. Accountability • To gain public acceptance, we have to practice what we preach, workwithcommunities, understand their aspirations, and show that we arethe kind of businesses and industry that they wantin their communities, now and in the future • Without effective, meaningful engagement, public acceptance will not magically appear even if you are offering community benefits

  14. “The right way to do things is not to persuade people you’re right but to challenge them to think it through for themselves.”Chomsky

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