Tackling anti wind farm opinion

Over the past couple of months, awordaboutwind has consistently argued that when it comes to the UK wind energy market, there is a great deal to celebrate. However, as numerous reports continue to demonstrate, when it comes to the way in which our industry communicates, we’re falling woefully short.

Take yesterday’s story, initially published in the The Sunday Times and laterly published online in The Daily Telegraph, as a case in point.

Here we have a classic example of an industry trying to run before it can walk. And as a result, we have not just a whole swathe of turbines producing power that can’t be used but also a serious communications boo boo. This time, it just so happened that it was The Renewable Energy Foundation that dug the dirt, last time it was The John Muir Trust – and next time, who knows?

Indeed, while the facts and figures uncovered by these various campaigning groups creates a thorn in the side of UK wind energy initiatives, to focus industry frustrations on the whistle blowers is to miss the point.

Instead, we need to be addressing the root of the issue – both from a logistics and a communications perspective. Only then – and by working together – can we realistically expect to tackle the growing swathe of anti wind farm opinion.