EXAMINING APPROACHES TO RENEWABLES CONSULTATION. LESSONS FROM AWEL AMAN TAWE COMMUNITY WIND FARM PROJECT ETSU K/BD/00236/REP DTI/Pub URN 01/1068 Contractor Awel Aman Tawe Prepared by E Hinshelwood D McCallum The work described in this report was carried out under contract as part of the DTI Sustainable Energy Programmes. The views and judgements expressed in this report are those of the contractor and do not necessarily reflect those of the DTI. First published 2001 © Crown copyright 2001 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The overall aim was: To develop and test a range of methods for a Participatory Assessment Process (PAP) in a large community on the subject of a Renewable Energy project in the area. Furthermore, to extract lessons regarding the methods and approaches undertaken. The specific objectives were: 1. To identify and shape appropriate tools, methods and approaches for undertaking a fair community assessment process regarding a Renewable Energy project in the locality. 2. To conduct an in-depth (ten month) community consultation and assessment process for a proposed wind farm 3. To assess the methods and approaches used in the community consultation and assessment process for their efficiency and value to other developers and community groups. 4. To write up and disseminate the findings regarding the most valuable, efficient and appropriate methods and approaches undertaken. Introduction The increasing level of local opposition faced by wind farm developers in the UK over the last few years has led to a recognition of the importance of greater community involvement in Renewable Energy schemes and in more attention given to community consultation regarding proposed developments. However, despite this recognition there are still few examples in the UK of communities being involved in anything other than developer-led initiatives, and even in those, consultation and participation has been limited. It has been recommended by the House of Lords Select Committee in their recent report on Renewable Energy (1999) that it is 'vital' that 'urgent steps are taken to cultivate better public understanding of the issues and to create a more favourable climate for new proposals'. Nevertheless, there still exists little practical guidance as to how to involve local people in the planning of a Renewable Energy scheme. This is one of the gaps that Awel Aman Tawe were funded to address. Awel Aman Tawe is a community initiative, planned and implemented by experienced community practitioners. The organisation's overall aim is to develop a small wind farm, which could act as a major community asset to support a programme of local regeneration. The first phase of the project was a Participatory Assessment Process designed: • To explore the criteria on which people base their decision of whether they want to pursue the community wind farm idea or not. • To support the participation of local people in making the decision as to whether the project should go ahead. i In order to identify lessons regarding consultation and community involvement that would be useful to other Renewable Energy schemes, the project integrated a research element. The purpose of this was: • To assess the efficiency and effectiveness of the consultation in supporting community involvement in RE projects in general. • To monitor how different criteria affect people's decisions • To monitor how people's opinions change over the period of consultation. • To identify useful lessons learnt that could be disseminated to other communities and developers. Summary of work carried out: The project was divided into three stages: • Stage I (April & May 2000) Establishment of monitoring systems, research design, training, limited press coverage, structured interviews part one, community group audit. • Stage II (June 2000 - February 2001) In-depth consultation including leaflets to all households, coach trips to wind farms, focus group discussions, presentations, speakers from RE industry and people living locally to other wind farms, displays in public spaces, press coverage, semi-structured interviews, public meetings. • Stage III (February - March 2001) Structured interviews part two, to monitor change in opinions. Further limited consultation. Referendum to determine whether the project should go ahead. Dissemination of the results to the local community. Analysis of data and preparation of final report and consultation guide. The Participatory Assessment Process adopted three main aspects of consultation: information dissemination, discussion & debate and community decision-making. They were used iteratively: information disseminated supported discussion & debate; community discussion fed into further information dissemination as well as into decisions made about the conditions for the wind farm and as to whether the project should go ahead at all. Nearly 6,000 people in the Upper Amman and Swansea Valley areas participated to some extent in the discussion and decision-making about the wind farm idea. Twenty community groups participated in discussions, 265 people came on coach trips to see wind farms. Three hundred and seventy- seven people attended public meetings, over 200 people attended open days and seven schools brought children to activity sessions. Ninety-one people contributed their opinions through semi-structured interviews and small group discussions and 259 through structured questionnaires. Over 150 people got involved in using participatory methods. Four hundred and thirty- three people contacted the office directly, and 5,700 spoke to Awel Aman Tawe members outside of the office. ii The project was the subject of 94 pieces in the media including 17 letters from local people. Eighty local businesses and community facilities displayed posters and leaflets about the project and two local businesses put information on their website about the project and links to Awel Aman Tawe's website. Over the course of seven months there were 737 hits on the project's website. Three local people undertook projects about Awel Aman Tawe for their college work, and one local man made a video about his trip to a wind farm with Awel Aman Tawe. Thirteen people sat on the steering group, 18 worked in paid employment for the project, 50 training courses were attended by local people, and over 300 days of voluntary time was contributed to the project during the consultation period alone. Following nine months of consultation Awel Aman Tawe commissioned the Electoral Reform Services to administer a community referendum. Forty- eight percent of local people (4,252 people) voted either by telephone or by post (with individual security numbers to ensure no multiple voting). The results showed the community to be in favour of the idea of developing the wind farm with 57.5% voting for and 42.5% voting against. Summary of main findings: The overall findings from the consultation process were that the majority of local residents were in favour of the project on the basis of the following conditions: • The wind farm will consist of four or five turbines and will be situated on the Mynydd Uchaf (y Gwryd) between the villages of Rhiwfawr, Cwmllynfell and Tai'rgwaith. • Anyone aged 16 and over, living in the 12 closest villages and the farms and small holdings on the mountain itself is entitled to become a member of Awel Aman Tawe at the cost of £1. • All profits from the electricity generated will be held by a charitable trust. • The charitable trust will be managed by Trustees. Residents in each village elect their own trustee. • Funding will go to projects that generate local jobs, develop community facilities and services and respond to the needs of all age groups. The research process monitored people's opinions and sought to identify the criteria on which they based their views, and to tease out patterns of opinions. These were not straightforward. There were no major differences in the way men and women viewed the project, nor could the closeness that someone lived to the site be considered a determining factor in the opinions they held. However, the consultation did show that all age groups, both genders, and those living near and far from the site changed their opinions in favour of the wind farm over the course of the consultation. What was noticeable though was that, certain categories of people were more likely to change their opinions. People under the age of 30 were more likely to change their opinions and with increasing age people were less likely to iii change their opinion over the course of the consultation. Furthermore, in­ comers to the area were more likely to change their opinion. In the case of the under-30s and in-comers to the area,, change was made in favour of the idea and greater informal discussion was held with friends and families over the consultation period. Five sets of criteria were identified that local residents used in judging the project: - the potential threat of the wind farm on local livelihoods - whether the people involved are trustworthy - the potential opportunities gained by the area from developing the wind farm - the environmental factors - the consultation process itself Addressing these sets of criteria were a crucial part of the consultation process and discussion and debate often focused on several if not all of these aspects. While the overall opinions moved in favour of the project over the course of the consultation, not everyone supported the idea. Objections to the project came from one village relatively close to the site. A small group of people formed a local opposition group early on within the consultation process and campaigned against the idea by undermining the project on the basis of the five sets of criteria identified above. It would be natural to assume from the referendum results that this local opposition group had managed to substantially sway the opinions of residents in that village. However, at the very start of the consultation the majority of this village opposed the project anyway.