Community Acceptance Research
The long term goal of this research is to provide guidelines and best practices that can be used by stakeholders to conceive and execute wind energy projects. These guidelines and best practices will identify the following types of information: 1) Key community, government, business, and other organizations that must be involved in successful wind energy projects; 2) Processes of collaboration that must be undertaken by these organizations from conception through execution and lifecycle of wind energy projects; 3) Content and methods of communication between communities and organizations that must take place to transform shared information into meaningful action that results in progress and completion of wind energy projects; 4) Social impediments that must be overcome or avoided in development of wind energy, and 5) Technical parameters and limitations that must be considered in social and communicative processes of developing wind energy projects. The one year goal of this research is to compare and contrast the above stated information as these apply to three different wind farm projects within Kansas, 1) Wabaunsee County deliberations regarding whether or not to develop a commercial wind power project; 2) Kiowa County - the new Greensburg (2010) wind farm, and 3) Butler County's existing Elk River wind energy project.