Permitting and siting success using the `I-site` approach
- COCO+CO, Boston, MA (United States)
Growth in the waste-to-energy industry has fallen considerably since its hey day in the mid-1980s. Depending on the perspectives of various interests, many explanations for this decline are given. These include the effects of recycling mandates, lack of energy markets and citizen environmental concerns. Two obstacles to successful siting - energy surpluses and overly ambitious recycling mandates - are being cleared away. Deregulation of the electric power industry promises to create new, competitive energy markets. Utilities are making plans to exit the so-called {open_quotes}merchant function,{close_quotes} thus creating new opportunities for independent power producers and aggregators. Unreliable recycling markets present new demands for disposal capacity. There appears, then, to be only one remaining hurdle that must be overcome for the industry to take advantage of the potential opportunities ahead. Not surprisingly, it is community perception. Driven by a fear of the unknown, the public - including news reporters and local politicians - challenges disposal methods they do not understand. And their protests persist even though these projects actually lessen many environmental threats. Fueling opponents are some personal injury lawyers and special interest groups that secure economic opportunity from the debate. How can the waste-to-energy industry take advantage of new market opportunities, win permits with a minimum of delay, limit costly conditions, reduce unfounded objections and contain legal costs? The answer is letting down the traditional corporate guard and fully `involving` all constituent audiences in the siting process. The success of the involvement in siting - or the `I-Site` - approach also relies heavily on the adoption of a new, yet common sense, communications model. These conclusions are based on a comparison of siting successes and failures over the last 15 years, including lessons learned from other industries.
- Research Organization:
- Solid Waste Association of North America, Silver Spring, MD (United States); Air and Waste Management Association, Pittsburgh, PA (United States); Integrated Waste Services Association, Washington, DC (United States); National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Yonkers, NY (United States). Solid Waste Processing Div.; Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States). Air Pollution Technology Branch
- OSTI ID:
- 548927
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-970440-; ON: DE97007054; TRN: 97:005590-0015
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 5. annual North American waste-to-energy conference and exhibition, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States), 22-25 Apr 1997; Other Information: PBD: 1997; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of fifth annual North American waste-to-energy conference; PB: 1102 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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