Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
11.3.2 Transparency and Broad Participation
Successful wind power programs encourage participation from a broad
spectrum of actors and exhibit a high degree of transparency throughout
the policy cycle. During policy formulation, initiatives to encourage par-
ticipation lead to the creation of better policy. Broader participation helps
mitigate unanticipated secondary problems that arise when policymaking is
undertaken in isolation from key stakeholders. To illustrate, in California's
Altamont Pass, poor planning led to the establishment of wind farms in the
1980s that were responsible for a high avian mortality rate, engendering
severe opposition from environmental groups. If the planning process had
been more transparent and encouraged broader participation, alternative
wind farm siting strategies may have been developed to avert this problem.
When policy is being formulated, transparency in communicating the
policy to the market helps reduce market uncertainty (and risk). As the US
case study illustrated, uncertainty over whether or not the production tax
credit would be extended engendered boom and bust cycles that made it
hard for wind power development irms to establish business growth strat-
egies and plan R&D. Conversely, unwavering support for wind power in
Denmark and Germany, even amidst regime change, engendered a degree
of market conidence that encourages wind power irms to make longer
term investments.
At the implementation stage, frequent communication with key stake-
holders yields valuable feedback to improve the efectiveness of a given
policy. his is most apparent in Denmark where frequent interaction with
municipal governments and community members has allowed the govern-
ment to reformulate strategies to attenuate community dissonance associ-
ated with higher concentrations of wind power systems.
hese insights agree with academic studies on transparency manage-
ment, which indicate that transparency and participation engender greater
stakeholder acceptance, enhanced innovation, better strategic cohesion,
and elevated responsiveness to change.
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11.3.3 Strategic Balance
Advocacy coalition theory hypothesizes that policy regimes become estab-
lished through coalitions of stakeholders, which share core ideologies that
allow a given policy direction to dominate. Advocacy coalition theory fur-
ther postulates that these entrenched regimes will resist change that neces-
sitates rejection of core ideologies.
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here is evidence that these insights
