Enhancing Public Engagement on Offshore Wind Energy Using “Genius loci”

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  • Title: Enhancing Public Engagement on Offshore Wind Energy Using “Genius loci”: A Case Study from the Lake Michigan Coast
  • Author(s): Erik Nordman, Daniel O'Keefe, Erika Arndt
  • Publisher: Common Ground Research Networks
  • Collection: On Sustainability
  • Journal Title: The International Journal of Sustainability Policy and Practice
  • Keywords: Genius loci, Great Lakes, Michigan, Netherlands, Egmond aan Zee, Offshore Wind Energy, Place-based Engagement, Public Perceptions
  • Volume: 12
  • Issue: 4
  • Date: October 27, 2016
  • ISSN: 2325-1166 (Print)
  • ISSN: 2325-1182 (Online)
  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/2325-1166/CGP/v12i04/19-32
  • Citation: Nordman, Erik, Daniel O'Keefe, and Erika Arndt. 2016. "Enhancing Public Engagement on Offshore Wind Energy Using “Genius loci”: A Case Study from the Lake Michigan Coast." The International Journal of Sustainability Policy and Practice 12 (4): 19-32. doi:10.18848/2325-1166/CGP/v12i04/19-32.
  • Extent: 32 pages

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Abstract

We describe a novel approach to public engagement with offshore wind energy based on “genius loci” (“spirit of a place”). North America has only one offshore wind farm but they could be viable in the Great Lakes. Cultural ties between coastal Michigan, USA, and the Netherlands offered opportunities to learn from the Dutch offshore wind experience. Residents from a Lake Michigan coastal region with Dutch heritage videoconferenced with a Netherlands-based tourism specialist regarding the Egmond aan Zee offshore wind farm. Experts from public agencies and the Coast Guard also made presentations about potential regulation of offshore wind energy development. Important differences and similarities between the regions emerged, including the clustering of technological expertise, tourism effects, and perspectives on working seascapes. Michigan has more private coastal property than the Netherlands, which has implications for the visual/aesthetic impact. About 80% of seminar participants agreed that the Netherlands’ experience with offshore wind was applicable to coastal Michigan suggesting the place-based forum grounded in “genius loci” may have enhanced the public engagement efforts.