Good questions can stop bad projects – Watts Up With That?

From CFACT

By David Wojick

f you want to speak out against a bad project at a public meeting, consider asking a hard question instead of stating an objection. Objections call for no immediate action except perhaps a cursory “thank you, we will think about that.”

A hard question calls for an answer there and then. It also conveys an objection, but the point is to force the officials to say something specific in reply. Of course, there are ways to duck hard questions, but then they have done that publicly for all to see.

By way of example, below are some hard questions that raise serious issues with wind, solar, and battery projects. Along the way, I also discuss how to present these questions. But these are just suggestions, as every case depends on the local situation. These examples are mostly intended for meetings with elected officials who have to approve the projects.

Let us start with grid scale batteries. Wind and solar development has recently been constrained to some degree, but batteries are going great guns. These are 40 foot long, container-sized chemical energy storage units that often come in groups. That these huge batteries can spontaneously ignite or explode is well known. So the first thing to ask about is the evacuation plan, which should include all of the units going up at once.

For example: “Who is subject to evacuation under the evacuation plan?”

Do not just ask if there is a plan, because a simple “yes” ends the conversation. The point to press is that people have a right to know if they should be ready to evacuate. Of course, if there is no plan, this question raises that issue, but it does more than that. This question makes it personal.

In the case of wind towers, there is also a personal question that can be raised. Wind projects involve multiple towers that can be seen over a large area, in some cases many miles away. In closer, they can dominate the view.

These industrial views tend to lower property values, so there is this question: “Will you cut the property tax assessments where these wind towers cause property values to go down?” If they say “no,” ask “why not?” If they say “yes,” ask “how much?”

This is a two-step question and many are like that. In general, you need to prepare follow-up questions for the various likely answers to the initial question. The idea is to force a conversation about a big downside of the project.

Solar projects may not have the big local impact that battery fires and 500 foot wind towers can have, but there is the obvious downside of intermittency. This suggests the following question:

“We already have the electricity we need, and if we need more it is around the clock, so why are we paying for solar?”

This question is designed to create a lengthy discussion. If the proposed answer is that state law requires more renewables, it still does not require this project. The same question can be used for wind and battery projects.

Note that this question begins with some facts. This may often be necessary, but they should be kept to a hard-hitting minimum. The more you say, the easier it will be for the response to talk about the facts instead of the question.

Those are the examples. There are lots of ways to do this depending on the situation. The point is to take a really bad feature of the proposed project and force a conversation by asking a simple hard question.

There is an art to designing hard questions. It is important to know what the respondent’s official duties are so the question can address them. Don’t make a speech, but laying out the bad facts is also important so someone else doing that could come before the hard question. Be firm but not angry.

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