Saint Consulting » News 2009

Delaware professor says Bluewater’s public-support approach a blueprint

Stephen — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 19:19:33 +0000

December 10, 2009 — The News Journal (Wilmington, Delaware) — The Delaware public embraced an offshore wind farm proposal in large part because of how the issue was framed, says a University of Delaware researcher. And that could be a powerful lesson for others. University of Delaware associate professor Willett Kempton briefed the American Wind Energy Association last week about how Bluewater Wind won public support for a power purchase contract with Delmarva Power despite odds heavily stacked against the venture. Kempton drew contrasts between reception the Delaware public gave Bluewater with the cold greeting many locals gave the Cape Wind proposal in Massachusetts.

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Stakeholder acceptance, policy incentives needed to develop offshore wind

Stephen — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:12:13 +0000

SNL Power Daily 12-8-2009 — December 8, 2009 — SNL Power Daily — Stakeholder acceptance and policy incentives are key elements for offshore wind projects to be successful, panelists said Dec. 3 at the American Wind Energy Association’s Offshore Wind Power Workshop in Boston. Ben Kelahan, senior vice president of energy with Saint Consulting, which was involved with the Bluewater Wind LLC project in Delaware, said it is critical for offshore wind energy projects to engage the gen- eral public in the process from the get-go. “It is the vocal advocates that determine the outcome of projects like these,” he said. “To reach them, first, you need to understand who they are, then you have to repetitively educate them and then you have to get them to act, lest you be the lone voice in supporting your own project.”

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High-tech helps developers open doors

Admin — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:14:49 +0000

November 28, 2009 — The Washington Post — Saint Consulting President Patrick Fox is quoted in a news report about adding the use of social networking and technology to traditional shoe leather political organizing to build citizen support for development projects. (White Flint team goes directly to residents to add them to the lobbying corps)

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Internet changing way landfill siting battles are fought

Stephen — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:12:55 +0000

November 09, 2009 — Waste & Reclycling News — YOU AIN’T SEEN NOTHING YET — If landfill developers thought times were tough, just wait.

That’s because potential project opponents are more easily mobilized with information that can be gained quicker than ever thanks to the Internet, said Michael Saint, founder and CEO of the Saint Consulting Group, a firm specializing in land use politics.

“If they thought it was hard to get projects built in the past, it’s going to be harder in the future,” Saint said in a recent interview to promote a new book, “NIMBY Wars: The Politics of Land Use,” he co-authored.

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Book Review: NIMBY Wars

Stephen — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:35:57 +0000

November 5, 2009 — Financial Times — TACTICAL GUIDE TO THE DARK ARTS OF NIMBY CAMPAIGNS — A review of the business book NIMBY Wars – The Politics of Land Use by Jonathan Birchall, U.S. retail reporter for the Financial Times. “The authors have produced what amounts to an introductory promotional handbook to the dark arts of land use politics …

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Walmart gears up for push into cities

Stephen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:15:56 +0000

November 2, 2009 — Financial Times — Walmart has stepped up efforts to mobilize local political support for new store openings in US cities and urban areas that were last month identified as a growth priority for the retailer by Mike Duke, its chief executive. Saint Consulting, a group specializing in land use politics, reported in January this year a drop in the number of people saying they would oppose the opening of a new Walmart store.

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Retail giant Wal-Mart pushing to move into New York City

Stephen — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:50:07 +0000

November 2, 2009 — New York Daily News — Wal-Mart’s mission to open a bunch of new stores in urban areas in the U.S. has the retail behemoth setting its sights on the Big Apple, the Financial Times reports. Saint Consulting found the number of people who would oppose a new Wal-Mart in their neighborhood dropped from 68% two years ago to 56% this year.

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Skipping homework in public opinion and politics can sink quarry expansion plans

Stephen — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:00:24 +0000

November 2009 —Rock Products Magazine — Cover Story: SHE HATES YOU. So do all her neighbors. Knowing why, and more importantly, how to change that will make aggregate operations more profitable. By Christopher Hopkins, Senior Vice President for Aggregates and Mining, The Saint Consulting Group.

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Britain Blows Past 4GW Wind Mark, Still Has Long Way To Go

Stephen — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:22:42 +0000

October 28, 2009 — Solve Climate: Daily Climate News and Analysis — The British Wind Energy Association has unveiled new data on the nation’s wind power industry, and it’s a mix of good and bad news. The windiest nation nation in Europe still has a long way to go to catch up with competitors on the continent.

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Overcoming Opposition to Quarry Projects

Stephen — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 13:37:27 +0000

September/October 2009 Stone, Sand & Gravel Review — OVERCOMING OPPOSITION AND BUILDING COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE: EVERYTHING IS POLITICAL Sixty-two percent of Americans say they’d oppose an aggregate quarry if one were proposed in their hometown. To put that in perspective, it’s more opposition than a nuclear power plant registered in the 2009 Saint Index survey of attitudes about local real estate development projects. Saint Consulting Senior Vice President for Aggregates and Mining Christoper Hopkins details how to overcome opposition to quarry project.

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