» Monthly Archives: November 2010

Will lame-duck Congress pass incentives for renewable energy?
With Republicans set to take power in the U.S. House of Representatives in January, some wonder whether the lame-duck Democrat-controlled Congress will approve some $7 billion in tax credits and grants for energy from solar, wind, geothermal, and ethanol that are set to expire at the end of this year. Renewable and environmental groups are lobbying ...
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Massachusetts OKs Cape Wind Deal with National Grid
Cape Wind, the first offshore wind farm ever approved in the U.S., passed another major milestone this week with the approval by the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities of a 15-year Power Purchase Agreement with the utility, National Grid, to buy Cape Wind's energy, capacity and renewable energy credits, Timothy Hurst writes in the ecopolitology ...
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Do not skip political due diligence – essential step in airport expansion
By Jesse McKnight, Executive Vice President, The Saint Consulting Group (Editor’s note: this article on airport expansion explains the key role political due diligence plays in identifying and preparing for big issues facing controversial projects across all property sectors) The biggest mistake airport operators — or developers of any potentially controversial project — make is launching expansion ...
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Von Clausewitz on land use wars: commit resources, get good info, build crowd
By P. Michael Saint, CEO, The Saint Consulting Group When Prussian soldier and writer Carl Von Clausewitz wrote his classic book, “On War” in the 1830s, his words were directed at the philosophy, strategy and tactics of successful ground wars in 19th Century Europe. He did not envision that his ideas would be equally relevant to ...
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Planetizen: NIMBYs seen as valuable corrective to land use planning
Planetizen has published a post by land use lawyer Keith Sugar which makes the case that while NIMBYs are often acting on behalf of their own parochial interests, they serve a beneficial role as a valuable corrective to the land use planning process. Click here for the full post. Your comments are most welcome. Keith ...
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U.S. Election Shows Why Social Media Should Matter to Developers
By Stephen Shepherd, Vice President, The Saint Consulting Group Property developers still skeptical about using social media like Facebook and Twitter in their campaigns to win zoning entitlements for controversial projects should take a look at last week’s US elections. Social media participation in a campaign was just as significant or even more significant a predictor of ...
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