Transmission and Public Lands

Media Scan and Analysis

April 17, 2009

Table of Contents

Introduction 1
Methodology 1
Overarching Frames 2
Message and Messenger Analysis 2
Conclusions and Recommendations 5
Appendix 6

Introduction

The maturation of utility-scale renewable energy resources as a competitive alternative to traditional

fossil fuel power generation has raised a compelling new challenge for the conservation community: how
to harness the potential of renewable energy generation to tackle global warming while protecting
America’s wildlife, water and iconic public lands. Already, the media has latched on to the story about
internal differences emerging within the public lands conservation community.

The Wilderness Society, Sierra Club staff leaders, NRDC, National Audubon and Western Resource
Advocates (GreenTX groups) are supporting expansion of utility-scale renewable energy projects and
transmission infrastructure that carefully considers and minimizes environmental impacts. At the same
time many other, mostly smaller regional and state-level conservation organizations, are making the case
that such expansion is unnecessary and poses unacceptable tradeoffs.

To inform message and media outreach strategy for the GreenTX groups, Resource Media analyzed a
selected group of representative news stories to gain a better understanding of how reporters are framing
the issue in coverage and how conservationists are being cast and quoted in stories.

Methodology

For this analysis we looked at 20 feature-length articles from national and regional outlets from the past
five months (December 1, 2008 to April 1, 2009). Outlets include The New York Times, Washington Post,
National Journal, Los Angeles Times and TIME Magazine (see attached full article list). While most of
the articles at least touch on specific projects, they were selected because they took a broader, in-depth
look at the issue from a national or regional perspective. The coverage sample, while not exhaustive,
nevertheless allows for some preliminary conclusions to inform discussion of future communications
strategy. We searched the national media database Lexis-Nexis for articles containing combinations of
search terms, including “renewable energy,” “land conservation,” “conflict,” “transmission lines,” “public
lands” and “utility-scale.” From the hundreds of results, we chose the most relevant articles for deeper
analysis. We also selected articles from Grist.org and Energy and Environment News directly using the
same search terms.

Overarching Frames

The clean energy conundrum

The dominant theme, not surprisingly given our chosen search parameters, is the potential conflict
between new clean energy development and more “traditional” conservation issues like wildlife and
public land protection, captured in this reporting in the Washington Post:

“Thousands of miles of new power lines will be required to bring renewable energy to cities and
suburbs, a vast undertaking that will cost untold billions of dollars in public and private money and
will require compromise by dueling interest groups. . .”

Reliability
Another prevalent theme is reliability of the nation’s aging power grid and the need to upgrade and build
on existing transmission infrastructure to accommodate new generation sources, including renewables, to
meet growing U.S. demand for electricity.

“Concern is rising about the inability of the antiquated U.S. power grid to keep pace with the nation's
growing demand for electricity. Congestion -- essentially electricity traffic jams -- bedevils existing
transmission corridors across the country. Renewable sources such as wind and utility-scale solar
thermal plants are adding to the bottleneck” (LA Times)

Message and Messenger Analysis

GreenTX groups
The primary messages from GreenTX boil down to “we can have both” and “we need to do it right.”

“We know solar and other renewable resources represent a tremendous opportunity to contribute to
the solution of global warming, and we do need some measure of utility-scale development,” said
Johanna Wald, a San Francisco-based senior attorney in the Natural Resources Defense Council’s
land program. “But we don’t need to put projects on inappropriate or extremely environmentally
sensitive areas.” (National Journal)

“We are learning and understanding the trade-offs between things, and they are hard,” said Pam
Eaton, deputy vice president of the public lands campaign of The Wilderness Society, who has been
working to bridge gaps between environmentalists. “You’ve got the short-term impact of a project
versus a long-term problem, which is climate change.” (New York Times)

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Media Scan and Analysis
April 17, 2009
 "The goal is not to pick places that are going to be controversial," said Carl Zichella, who oversees
transmission issues for the Sierra Club. "We are all working together to figure out how to get this
power to market quickly so it reaches consumers in a time frame that helps us deal with global
warming." (San Francisco Chronicle)

Anti-Utility-Scale Renewables Groups

The messages from groups that are opposing, or perceived as opposing, big renewable projects and new
transmission fall into two main categories:

Greenwashing: New transmission lines will really carry coal and/or encourage coal. Big renewable
projects aren’t green if they trash the land.

Unnecessary/outdated approach: We can have our clean energy future without big renewable projects and
transmission. Big renewable projects and big power lines are the model of the past. We can build a clean
energy future through distributed, or onsite, generation and upgrades to existing transmission lines.

Former CBD staff member David Hogan calls the 1,000-megawatt project a case of “industrial
development masquerading as renewable energy,” arguing that the power line is big and unnecessary
and would carry too little green electricity. (WA Post)

“It really is time to deploy an energy production and smart-grid systems that are much safer, more
intelligent, and much more efficient,” Chipps says. “If we do this, we won't need massive, costly
networks of new transmission lines.” (Christian Science Monitor)

Policymakers and Energy Officials

Messages from policymakers, regulators, utility and other energy officials break down into two major
themes:

Clean energy all-of-the-above: To build a clean energy economy and we need to do it all – energy
efficiency, smart grid upgrades, distributed generation as well as utility-scale renewable energy
development and the new transmission lines needed to carry it.

Balance and acceptable tradeoffs: Renewable energy development won’t be without some tradeoffs, but
we can do it in a way that balances environmental protection with our need to tackle global warming and
meet the nation’s growing energy needs.

“The big, concentrated, renewable energy projects are necessary,” said Anthony Brunello, deputy
secretary for climate change and energy at the California Natural Resources Agency. “Just putting
solar panels on buildings is not enough.” (National Journal)

“If you accept the notion that you want to get renewables on the map, that you want to encourage the
generation of alternative electricity, you have to do something to get it to market," said Greg

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Media Scan and Analysis
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 Williams, a former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission attorney now at the law firm Bracewell &
Giuliani. “Once you've made that decision, then, yes, you need the transmission." (E&E News)

"Not everybody likes transmission lines," said Michael R. Niggli, San Diego Gas & Electric's chief
operating officer, "but if it means cleaner air and a cleaner environment, at the end of the day, that's a
trade-off. . ." (Washington Post)

Renewable Energy Developers

Renewable energy developers often make the case that some tradeoffs will be unavoidable in balancing
renewable energy development with environmental protection and pose the rhetorical question “if not
large-scale renewables, then what?”

Californians need to find a balance between protecting environmentally sensitive areas and building
transmission lines, said Paul Thomsen, director of policy and business development for Ormat
Technologies Inc., a Reno geothermal company. “You really start to back yourself into a corner,”
Thomsen sais, “ if you don't want to live next to a power plant, and you don't want transmission and
don't want fossil fuels.” (LA Times)

“There's going to be an impact” on the environment, said BrightSource spokesman Keely Wachs.
“The question is how you can minimize it.” (LA Times)

“You can't love renewables and hate transmission. They go together,” said Jonathan Weisgall, a vice
president of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., which owns CalEnergy. (San Francisco Chronicle)

NIMBYs
Messages from local residents, landowners and community groups are diverse, ranging from property
rights and local self-determination, to corporate greed, greenwashing and local impacts.

“This isn't about protecting the planet. It's about money,” said Donna Tisdale, a rancher and
community activist in eastern San Diego County. “This is the industrialization of rural America.”
(Los Angeles Times)

Mr. Myers is indignant. “How can you say you’re going to blade off hundreds of thousands of acres of
earth to preserve the Earth?” he said. (New York Times)

"It's peaceful out here. I love the wildlife,” says Mike Strobridge, 32, an auto mechanic, explaining
why he moved to the Carrisa Plains with his daughter. “But then these solar guys are going to come
in, and they're just gonna destroy the area.” (TIME Magazine)

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Media Scan and Analysis
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Conclusions and Recommendations

GreenTX groups so far have successfully claimed the mantle of balance

In the sample of coverage we looked at, GreenTX groups have been consistently on-message in calling
for a balanced approach. Meanwhile, reporters are clearly making the distinction between the perspective
of GreenTX groups and groups that oppose large-scale renewable and transmission development. While
there’s no substitute for specific research, rafts of public opinion research on environmental issues suggest
that GreenTX’s balance message will resonate with a majority of Americans. Put another way, polling
consistently shows that people don’t want to choose between two values they care about – in this case
clean energy and stewardship of America’s public lands, wildlife and water.

GreenTX groups have public opinion on their side

A Resource Media analysis of recent state and national polls on energy development demonstrated
overwhelming support for renewable energy and a strong affinity for “comprehensiveness” in clean
energy resource development. Americans support a diverse strategy that includes investments in energy
efficiency and a broad range of renewable energy technologies. Precluding any options, including utility-
scale renewables, runs counter to prevailing public opinion. Americans are also sensitive to cost,
especially in the current economic climate. The message coming from policy makers, renewable energy
developers and others that utility-scale renewable energy development is currently more cost-effective
than on-site generation, would only tend to further cement public support for large-scale projects.

“Environmentalists divided story” points to immediate communications needs

The media’s attraction to this story is predictable, inevitable and largely insider baseball. Average voters
likely have little awareness of the story. The primary audience for the story is policy makers for whom
GreenTX groups offer a moderate, solutions-oriented perspective to a difficult public policy challenge.
The “just say no” groups may offer a strategically valuable left flank for the more moderate voices of
GreenTX. On the downside, the story has the potential to further inflame tensions within the conservation
community. And while the media is likely to move beyond the story in the near-term, it underscores the
need to make a stronger case to persuadables within the green base, and identify and promote projects that
break the conflict frame (see last two recommendations below).

Common ground is in green transmission

The clear area of agreement among most conservation groups is the need to prioritize access for clean
energy over fossil fuels for any new transmission corridors. Priority for renewables may offer an
engagement point for a shared message strategy among a broad cross-section of public lands groups and
clean energy advocates.

Develop communications strategy for the conservation base

Many conservationists not yet directly engaged in the debate are probably following it with ambivalence -
which means they are persuadable. There is a clear need for making a more effective case for utility-scale
renewable energy development to the green base. The messenger will be as important as the message.
One of the most effective ways to deliver that message would be through conservation leaders who enjoy
credibility among a broad cross-section of public lands and wildlife advocates.

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Media Scan and Analysis
April 17, 2009
Promote real-world examples to show what “doing it right” looks like
GreenTX groups would be well served to identify and actively support renewable energy and
transmission projects that exemplify appropriate development and acceptable tradeoffs. Complex,
nuanced issues are more easily explained, and better grasped, through real-world examples than abstract
principles. Even if a particular project doesn’t make the cut of what GreenTX can support, consider
highlighting the aspects of the project that do make the grade.

Appendix
The attached spreadsheet includes a list of the articles on which this analysis is based as well as all quotes
for and against utility-scale renewables and transmission expansion from conservationists. The “con”
group includes local community groups, residents and landowners.

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