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Injecting Useful and Credible Information into Wind Power Siting

Survey II Question 5 October 26, 2012 Page 1

Survey II Question 5

Please offer your thoughts on what attributes or characteristics of the

information examples provided here enhance or detract from:

Legitimacy

LBNLwasamassive,independent,statisticallyrigorousexercise.Alloftheothershadflawswhichmadethem,atbest,usefulasanecdotes

Legitimacydecreasesasunrelatedinformationisbroughttotheargument

authoraffiliation,fundingsourceorentitiy

Enhance--studiesthatusedcrediblemethods,statisticalsignificances,actualdata,largesamplesizes,representeddifferentgeographicareas,

Strongstatisticalfoundationinsufficientdataset;peerreview;propermethodology

Conclusionssupportedbyscientificanalyses,preferablypeer-reviewedinscientificorprofessionaljournals

fact-based;notanecdotal;noaxestogrind;solidmethodology

universityaffiliation;statisticalanalysis;publishedinpeerreviewedjournals Credible,non-biasedsourcesofinformationareparamount.However,Ihaveyettoreador

applyatotallyunbiasedsourceofinformationashumansarenottotallyobjective.Editorials,blogsandtestimonialsexhibitbiasthatmustbeacknowledgedinanyandalldiscussionsinvolvingwindpowerprojects.Considerthesource!

Nationallyrecognizedinstitutionorindependentorganization(notiesorlimitedtiestowindindustry);useofvariousstudiestocompareandcontrast

neutralstartingpoint,thatprovidescomprehensivedataanddirectlybalancesstrengthsandweaknessesofdata

Welldocumented,neutral-scientificwording,clearwriting

data/statisticsenhancethereports;fundingsourceforstudycandetractfromperceivedlegitimacy

Hoenetalisoftenconflatedinto"BerkeleyLab"andthereweresometransactionsomitted.As

above,verydifficulttoextrapolatefromthisdifferenteraturbine,etc StudiesmustbeconductedbyCOMPLETELYindependentexperts.

thesource&whosponsoredit;howunderstandableitis;

whopaysforit,howitisused,whatlanguageisusedtodescribeeffortandfindings

Industrythatiscommenting-selfservingornot

Relianceonanecdotes(seesecondandsixthresources)abadsign.Failuretodirectlyaddresscrediblesourcesofinformationthatcounteryourpointdetractfromlegitimacy(8thresourcementionsmanyarticles,shouldmentionHeintzelmanarticle).Greatwhenstudyusesmultiplemethodologies,buildsonotherstudies(Hoen...)

highlynegative,defensivetonedetracts,useofpersonalexperiencedetracts

Paperswhichobjectivelypresentbothprosandconsofthetopicaremorelegitimatethanthosethatareclearlyonesided.

Nonpeerreviewedstudieslacklegitimacy

Neutralityofauthor(s),sourcesoffunding,expertiseofauthor(s)recognizedbybothsides,crediblesourcedataused

Informationthatidentifiesandisbasedonasoundmethodologyandreflectsthoroughandcarefulanalysishashigherlegitimacyvalue.Purelyanecdotalinformationthatisdrivenbyideologydetractsfromlegitimacy.Anecdotalinformationcanstillbelegitimateifitisdivorcedfromideology.

Anti-windbiasedpresentationsleadwithfearanddivisivelanguage.doseethatinbiasedtowardwindlit.

investigatingalltheimportantdetailsthatmayresultinfalseresults

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Whodoesthestudy?Directlinkstowindindustry,affectedstakeholdersorspecificprojectsshouldbeavoided.

Pro:independence(e.g.govtlabsoruniversities);nopersonalorfinancialstakeinresults.Con:historyofpro-oranti-windadvocacyorclearbias

TheLBNLReportandtheValuesintheWindreportappeareduponskimmingtobethemostlegitimatereports.Formatdoeshelpinmakingareportappearlegitimate.Thesedocuments

appearedintheformatofareviewedreport. UnaffiliatedwithFederalDOE,orstateagencieschargedwiththedevelopmentofrenewables.

Idon'tthinkthatanyofthesourcesareillegitimate,asIthinkthattherearedefinitelycaseswhenpropertyvaluesmaybeaffectedbywindturbinesiting.

Scientificapproach,acknowledgingwhatisnotknow,notabsolutestatements

Credibility

LBNLisanindependent,authoritativebody.Someoftheothershadveryclearbiases,orhidtheirbiasesinselectionofstudy

Credibilitydecreasesasunrelatedinformationisbroughttotheargument.Itincreasesforpeer-reviewedjournals.

citingpeerreviewedarticlesandstudies,lackofperceivedbias

Enhance--studieswhereresearchersareindependent,they(ortheirsponsors)donothaveafinancialstakeintheoutcome,andhaverelevanteducationalbackgroundandexperience.

Transparencyofthegoodandbad,positiveandnegative

Fulldisclosureofstudysponsors;authorsandotherstudiescitedtosupportconclusions

preparedbypeoplewithqualifications;detachedfrompeoplewithstrongpositionsproorcon

Again,considerthesource.Whoisfundingtheresearch/studies?Whoaretheproponentsofsuchresearch/studies?Whichstakeholder(s)dotheyrepresent?Whataretheintentionsofthosepromotingorpublishingsuchresearch?

Informationfromorganizationswithsole"anti"positiondonotprovidecredibilitywhentheydonotacknowledgeanypositiveattributeofwindpower

noconnection,fundingorotherwise,topro/antiwindstakeholders

Notobviouslyassociatedwithproponentsoropponentswithanagenda

Ibelievethereareacoustictakings,sothereiscredibilitytothatissue.Ifsetbacksandsitingweresufficient,Idon'tthinktherewouldbeasmany

Specialinterestgroups(tradeorganizations)anddevelopersmustnotsupportorpayforstudies.

source;whetheritispeerreviewed;whetheritisbasedonenoughdatafromwhichconclusionscanbedrawn

whopaysforit,backgroundofthosedoingthework

levelofexpertiseofthosecommentingonthesubject

Documentsthatarepeer-reviewed,orfromwell-knowninstitutionsalwayspreferred.Bonusgiventoworkperformedbyacademics-lessfearoffinancialincentivetoreachcertainconclusion.Canbeproblematicifsiteisgenerallydedicatedtobeingpro-oranti-wind.Mentioningskepticismofclimatesciencedefinitelynotgoodforcredibility.Articlescomingfromtradegroups(appraisers/AWEA)thathaveclearbiascanbeproblematic.

highlynegative,defensivetonedetracts,modeofpresentationdetracts Scholarly,wellresearchedpaperssignificantlyenhancethecredibilityofthefindings.

Comparisonofhouseprices(absentregionaland/orlocalmarketuniqueness)andanalyzinglargescaledistanceshurtscredibility

Balancedassessment-addressbothsides(enhances).Appealstoemotion/fear,onesidedpresentation,unsupportedassertions(detracts).

Ifbiasesinthedataandlimitationsofthedataareidentifiedandacknowledgedupfront,thecredibilityoftheinformationincreases.Iftheauthoroverstatestheconclusionsorsignificanceofthedata,thatdetractsfromcredibility,asdoesinterjectingpurelypersonalviewsand

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ideology.Failuretogivecredencetoopposingviewpointsorconclusionsthatcouldbedrawnfromthedatadiminishescredibility.

Who'spayingthemorwhotheyrepresent,e.g.lawyers,consultantstodevelopersorrealtors(opposingwind)

addressingandstudyingtheproandtheconperspectives

Multisourceanalysis

Pro:peer-reviewed.Con-self-published TheLBNlReport,ValuesintheWind,andWindTurbineSoundpresentationappearedtobe

themostcredible.Thepresentationfollowedalogical,andseeminglyunbiasedstepbystepprocess.

Theinformationcanbetestedusingpersonalskillsofanalysis.

Manyofthelesscrediblesourcestakeonlyoneortwoexamplesandthenusethattomakefuturepredictions.Ifindthemostcrediblesourcestobetheonesthatrelyonlargeamountsofobjectivedataandrelyonpreviousstudiestoverifythattheirfindingsarenotoutofline.Whileapropertyappraiserorrealtormighthavepersonalfeelingsabouttheimpactofawindturbine,thesalesdataprovidesaclearerpictureoftheimpactofwindturbinesonpropertysales.Ialsoquestionwhetheropponentsemotionsmayactuallyimpactvaluessinceitseemsthemorepublicityyouhaveregardingthenegativeaspectsofaprojectthelesslikelysomeonemightwanttopurchaseinthatneighborhood.The"Diminuation"studyrevealedthattheproperty

saleswerecomparedwithandwithouthomesontheproperties--thisismisleadingwhenprovidingsalesinfo.

Literaturecited,neutrallanguage

Usefulness

Thereneedstobeasummarythatisaccessibletotheaverageinterestedlayperson.

statisticallysignificantresults,clearlypresented,lackofbias

Accessibilityofinformationthathasbeenpeerreviewed,isrelevant,andcurrent

Astudyisusefuliftheresultsarepresentedinamannereasilyunderstoodbystakeholdersanddecisionmakers.

addressestherelevantissues;dispassionatediscussion;writtenatalevelappropriatefortheaudience

current;addresseachofthreechallengesfacingwind(area,scenic,nuisance)

Inthisarena,informationisonlyusefulifitleadstoconsensus.Windprojectsarecontentiousbynaturebecausetheyrepresentchangethat(realorperceived)impactspeople,theirlocalenvirons,theeconomyandthebroaderenvironment.Manypeopledon'trespondwelltochange.Inmyopinion,informationspecifictothisindustryisonlyusefulifitmakespeoplecomfortablewithchangeandfostersindividualacceptanceandcommunityconsensus.

Itisusefultoreviewvariousreportsbutpeer-reviewedinformationismostimportant

objective,wellsupportedconclusionsthatacknowledgedperceptionsonbothsidesofissuedandaddressthemdirectly

Bothdetail,andsummaries,withplentyofreferencestoothercrediblesources.

recentstudies,andmorestudies/data,maketheinformationmoreandmoreuseful

Thisisthemainissuetome-theNRELstudyhadveryfewtransactionswithinthe1milezone

Studiesmustbe'userfriendly'. underlyingdata;understandability;

ifthosewhosetitupalreadyknewwhatitwasbeingusedfor,thatdeterminesthistoalargedegree...

usefulnessisstillunknownasmanydecisionmakerswillnotread/listentostudiesandtheirfindings

Ifacademicpaper,musthaveexecutivesummary(4tharticleperfectexampleoffailingsthisisaproblem).Whenpossible,complexacademicarticlesshouldbeaccompaniedbypresentations,likeHoen.However,whendoingso,caremustbegivennottooversimplify.

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Simplethingslikegoodorganizationanduseofpithyheadingsshouldnotbeoverlooked.

highquantityoftechnicalinformation,definitionsandexplanationsenhanceusefulness

Papersthatprovideclearandconcisefindingsthataresupportedbyfactualanalysispresentedaremostuseful.

Crispnessofresults,credibilityofauthors,comprehensivenessofcoverageofthetopic,balanceincoverage

Iftheinformationcanbegeneralizedtodrawconclusionsthataffectsitingofprojects,itismoreusefulthandatathatmaybecompelling,butdoesnotprovideabasisfordrawingconclusionsthatgobeyondthespecificdatathatisbeingpresented.Datathatistiedtospecificreviewcriteriaorissuesthatarethefocusoflegislationismoreusefulthandatathatreflectsgeneralveiwpoints(eitheropposedorsupportive)ofwindpower.

Whenreportsorinfolayouthowacquiredinformationandthatit'sfromalargesampling.Allowsreadertomakeconclusions.Doesn'tleadwiththeconclusiontheyWANTreadertomake.

howdoeseachcorrelatetodifferentfactpatterns(i.e.ifturbinesarequitevisiblevsnotorimpactonpropertyvaluesofaresidencethatisahalfmileawayvsthree

Clearpresentationofresults;willingnesstoadmitlimitationsorcitecontraryevidence

The"CaseStudy"documentwastheleastusefulbecauseofitshardtofollowandbusylayout.Theconclusionswerenoteasytofind.

Increasesunderstandingofsubjectandperformance. WhileIthinkthatalloftheinformationisusefulasitispartofthefullpicture,Iamconcerned

thattheemotionaltestimoniesreceivemoreattentionthanthescientificapproach.Ibelievethatthedatadrivenstudiesarethemostuseful,butunfortunatelyIbelievetheyareoftennotreliedonbystakeholders.

structure,executivesummary