Public Power - January/February 2008 - (Page 34) Green Energy = Mean Energy? The obvious choice for substation control houses. Parkline: Substation control houses are our speciality. Our unique metal buildings are attractive, durable and maintenance free. Discover the Parkline difference today. Call us for a detailed quote or speci cation CD. Phone: 1.800.786.4855 Web: www.parkline.com Quality you can trust. 34 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2008 ments often come months later. Furthermore, in the end, as is the case with Cape Wind, the agency responsible for the EIS chooses which actions to take but is under no obligation to inform the public how comments influenced their decisions. At the end of a review and comment participation process, commentators are frequently left feeling disenfranchised. Cape Wind sponsors probably feel they are doing exactly what they need to do, following these traditional forms of public participation. They are winding their way through the process, meeting the requirements of the pertinent agencies, trying to get their permits and other necessary approvals. However, outside of putting up a Web site and launching what is more a public relations campaign than an effort at public participation, there is little indication they have made an effort to incorporate the public in their decision-making process. Any attempt at public participation, primarily town hall meetings and the environmental impact review and comment, were conducted by the state and federal government. This is not enough, and though they probably don’t realize it, simply following these traditional forms of public participation has probably contributed to polarizing the community and driven more people to oppose the project than normally would. Cape Wind might ensure greater acceptance if it used more collaborative forms of public participation. Collaborative public participation uses a variety of methods to break down the one-way communication process between decision makers and the community and establish a free flow of ideas between all interested parties. Almost from necessity, public power utilities find themselves in the vanguard of public participation efforts. Public power utilities have close ties to the communities they serve and, often, when searching for locations for a new power plant they are limited to the general vicinity of the community they’re serving. If an investor-owned utility can’t get a power plant built on one site, they can often just move to another location and try to get it built there. Public power utilities usually don’t have this kind of flexibility. Combined PUBLIC POWER http://www.jamartech.com http://www.parkline.com
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