THE CLIENT
Carson Power, a community solar developer, was pursuing a new community solar project in Granite City, Illinois. The team wanted to lead with a proactive, community-first approach to establish strong local relationships and build support for the project.
They engaged Sustainable PR at the start of the permitting process, requesting assistance coordinating and planning an open house event for neighboring residents. Sustainable PR counseled the team on best practices for engaging residents to provide an opportunity for Carson Power’s developers to formally introduce themselves to residents and share informational materials about the project to establish credibility and respect. Sustainable PR was then enlisted for the duration of the project to continue facilitating community connections with residents and local organizations to ensure the developer was established as a trusted community partner and resource for the community to mitigate the spread of false information and address community questions and concerns directly and immediately.
THE CHALLENGE
Even with early proactive community outreach and engagement, Carson Power’s project faced a unique procedural challenge: in Illinois, solar permits are granted not at the town level, but by committees within the County. This process grouped Carson Power’s project alongside several other solar projects seeking permits in Madison County, some of which were facing robust, organized opposition.
Despite Carson Power’s strong, proactive community engagement, which had resulted in little-to-no opposition to their specific site and had generated robust support for the development, their project was being lumped in with the general anti-solar sentiment at the county meetings. This dynamic created an unexpected roadblock, as the first two sub-committees denied a recommendation of approval.
The core challenge was not just to build out community support for the project, but to strategically differentiate Carson Power’s project from the others which were under public scrutiny and prevent it from being unfairly judged.
THE SOLUTION
Sustainable PR implemented a strategic differentiation and advocacy campaign using a targeted “Hub and Spoke” method, to not only build out community support for the project, but to have community members speak to the differentiating aspects of Carson Power’s site plan and permitting approach, to position them as a developer who was receptive to community feedback and willing to work with Granite City to develop a plan that was accommodating to the community
- Remote Resource Mobilization: Operating completely remote, Sustainable PR focused on leveraging existing regional networks to overcome the distance challenge and find authentic local voices, to both inform Carson Power’s team of the community’s primary questions and concerns, to proceed with a site plan that was accommodating and palatable for the community, building out support in the process.
- Identify Trusted Voices: SPR established connections with key environmental and solar organizations, including the local chapter of the Sierra Club and the Illinois Solar Energy Association (ISEA), to identify clean energy advocates in Madison County. These groups offered third-party perspectives that verified and added credibility to Carson Power’s public statements surrounding solar technology and the benefits of community solar.
- Differentiation Through Advocacy: SPR’s proactive communication with advocates, kept supporters updated on each phase of the permitting process, as well as each of the updates Carson Power made to their site plan in response to community feedback, such as increased setbacks, increased vegetative screening, and increased decommissioning bonds. Keeping advocates in the loop on these developments gave them the necessary tools to speak on behalf of the project and Carson Power, speaking directly to how their team had responded to and addressed the community’s requests.
THE RESULTS
Carson Power received a dozen letters of support and had as many as a half-dozen community members speak in favor of their project at public meetings – all of them pointing to how the development team was able to address board requests. No other solar project requesting permitting was receiving vocal support at meetings. The combination of Carson Power’s site alterations and the community’s positive response successfully differentiated Carson Power as a developer committed to open dialogue and positive community relations.
The final hurdle was to gain approval from the County Board, the ultimate decision-maker over the permitting of the project. The community support generated by the community engagement campaign, and Carson Power’s site alterations impressed the County Board. Recognizing Carson Power’s efforts to accommodate their requests and encouraged by the positive comments from the community, the Madison County Board awarded Carson Power a permit for their project.
