FOR SOLAR POWER PLANTS

Stakeholder engagement: Garnering support for CSP; Poor stakeholder engagement could lead to countless showstoppers for CSP developments
Neil Jaques, 5 August 2010 (CSP Today)

"…While the US solar thermal market compound annual growth rate (CAGR) stood at an unremarkable 2% per annum between 2001 and 2009…[It could surge] to 46% for the period 2010 to 2020…[A] Klondikian dash for South West desert is inevitable.

"So too is opposition, often of the paradoxical “green on green” variety, with environmentalists objecting to either the concept of development itself or, almost certainly, the manner and location in which it occurs…Utility-scale CSP plants are obtrusive constructions, particularly on pristine landscapes that take thousands of years to recover."

Where a "Klondikian dash" for desert is already going on. (click to enlarge)

"Typical stakeholders concerns include biodiversity issues (for example, desert tortoise, sage grouse, big horned sheep, and various plant species), anxiety about the socio-economic benefits of the construction, and the depletion of precious groundwater.

"The US’s bureaucratic steeplechase to attain project approval is perplexing enough as it is; with ineffectual stakeholder engagement it becomes nigh on impossible…If developers remain blind to the vicissitudes of due process, are poor listeners, or are incapable of communicating the complexities of their project in user-friendly manner, countless showstoppers loom on the horizon…"

Some species potentially threatened by solar power plant development and certainly threatened by climate change. (click to enlarge)

"Broadly speaking, the nascent CSP industry has far more responsible credentials than traditional utilities, but many developers still run into problems, particularly those first on the ground…The situation for many first-moving developers running into such issues may have been different had all the support mechanisms that exist today been around. Encouragingly, things are improving all the time, with putative future plans including the introduction of zones pre-screened for solar development…

"So, existing and future support mechanisms aside, what is the secret to getting stakeholders on board and avoiding time and cost-intensive hitches?…[D]irect engagement was particularly important…[Stakeholder concerns] have changed over time; two years ago the carbon footprint of development was pressing. Post-global recession, the talk is all about job creation and regional economic benefits…The main issue, however, is water…"