Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
wires, and other aspects of the project was capable of being done by
local companies. Rather than bring in California companies to handle
the wind farm's construction, Cannon deliberately sought out local
contractors and workers for these tasks. Cannon even hired locals for its
key administrative positions. Danielle and Keelie Olsen—two sisters who
were longtime friends of Brandy Davenport—began working for Cannon
relatively early in the wind farm's development and have continued
handling administrative duties for Cannon even long after completion of
the project.
Cannon's commitment to hiring locally led to the creation of more than
150 local jobs and the infusion of tens of millions of dollars into Klickitat
County's economy, all of which helped to buttress community support
for Cannon's wind farm. Even though most Goldendale residents did not
own land within the project area and thus received no lease payments,
most of these residents did see positive economic impacts from the project
in their own lives. A letter from Goldendale's mayor, Arletta Parton, to
Cannon during the development process highlighted some of these indirect
benefits:
I look at the motels being filled, restaurants being busy, the RV park
being full … thanks to all of you for the overall benefits you have
brought to my community.
5
Although Cannon's practice of hiring locally when possible sometimes
involved a bit of extra up-front cost because of additional training time,
the increased community support gained from this approach more than
justified these expenses in the end.
Spreading donations around
The other primary strategy that helped Cannon gain and maintain local
support for its wind farm project was to make modest donations to a
long list of community groups. One of Brandy Davenport's duties as an
employee of Cannon was to identify local organizations that she felt were
deserving of charitable assistance. Rather than making a small handful of
larger donations, Cannon tried to spread its donations as much as possible
so that they would directly benefit a larger proportion of the community's
residents. The company donated to between 10 and 20 different organiza-
tions per year during project construction.
Some of Cannon's donations went to predictable recipients—organi-
zations such as the local food bank or the school district. However, the
company also made donations to dozens of groups that rarely receive funds
from developers. The company donated to the Klickitat County Livestock
Growers, the Goldendale High School Rodeo Team, the Goldendale Police
Department, Ducks Unlimited, and the Centerville Church, to name a few.
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