ID: 1886
Presenting Author: Aaron Sheehan
Session: 639 - Contested Narratives: Misinformation, Mobilisation and Impact Assessment
Status: pending
Looking at practical examples on ways to manage misinformation, distrust and ride the political rollercoaster to develop renewable projects.
Project delivery today involves navigating not only technical and regulatory requirements, but also a rising tide of public misinformation, scepticism, and political uncertainty. Misinformation about solar modules that they end up in landfill, degrade rapidly, consume valuable farmland, or fail in cloudy climates persist despite evidence to the contrary. Similarly, battery storage is often misrepresented as unsafe, with rare incidents amplified beyond their true scale to suit narrative. From the proponent’s perspective, tackling these misconceptions is about more than defending technology. It is about building trust through early and genuine engagement, listening carefully to concerns and finding solutions that make sense locally. It relies on transparency by sharing clear, accessible information and it is reinforced by demonstration, allowing communities to see for themselves how projects work, how risks are managed, and how benefits are shared.
The value of these approaches is found in the way they can reshape understanding, set the discourse and build stronger connections between projects and the communities around them. They can change the tone of conversations, create trust and open the way to shared solutions. This presentation will share the developer’s view with real examples from projects on the ground. Some will show how these methods encouraged support and helped initiatives move forward. Others will reveal when they did not, and the lessons that came from those experiences.
Aaron’s current role is Head of Environmental Planning within Lightsource bp. He manages environmental permitting and implementation of social commitments across new markets for the organisation