{"id":29439,"date":"2022-05-01T22:14:01","date_gmt":"2022-05-01T22:14:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=29439"},"modified":"2022-05-05T12:24:17","modified_gmt":"2022-05-05T12:24:17","slug":"new-englanders-support-more-offshore-wind-power-just-dont-send-it-to-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/new-englanders-support-more-offshore-wind-power-just-dont-send-it-to-new-york\/","title":{"rendered":"New Englanders support more offshore wind power \u2013 just don\u2019t send it to New York"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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David Bidwell<\/a>, University of Rhode Island<\/a><\/em>; Jeremy Firestone<\/a>, University of Delaware<\/a><\/em>, and Michael Ferguson<\/a>, University of New Hampshire<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Rhode Island, home to the first offshore wind farm in the U.S.<\/a>, most people support expanding offshore wind power \u2013 with one important caveat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our research<\/a> shows they\u2019re less likely to support a wind power project if its energy flows to another state, and especially if it goes to a rival state. We found the same sentiment holds true on the New Hampshire coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social<\/a> scientists<\/a> like us<\/a> call this \u201cregionalism,\u201d and our research suggests it could have serious repercussions for the renewable energy transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about the rivalries and sometimes outright animosity among baseball fans. Few regional rivalries are as intense as the one between Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees fans. More than mere bluster, these place-based identities can strongly influence people\u2019s thoughts<\/a> and attitudes<\/a> about rival cities in ways that extend far beyond the game. An allegiance to the Yankees can even influence perception<\/a> of the distance between New York City and Boston.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But do regional identities affect attitudes toward energy development? Our studies of public attitudes toward offshore wind energy development indicate they might.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which state gets the power matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We conducted two surveys \u2013 one in Rhode Island and the other on the New Hampshire coast \u2013 to see how people felt about offshore wind power, including energy exports.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, both groups supported wind power off their shores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People were happiest if the power was produced for their home states. That wasn\u2019t a surprise. Studies have showed that the public generally objects to energy exports<\/a>, perhaps fueled by concerns over distributive justice<\/a>. Distributive justice refers to discrepancies between who bears costs, like having power plants and equipment in sight, and who benefits, such as from revenue and energy produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Tourists<\/a>
The Block Island Wind Farm\u2019s five turbines power the island with renewable energy. The rest of the electricity goes to the mainland grid. Scott Eisen\/Getty Images<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The answers got more interesting when we asked about exporting power to specific states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For people in New Hampshire, wind power projects that send power to their North Woods brethren in Maine were more palatable than projects that would connect to more urban Massachusetts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Rhode Islanders, a wind power project serving Massachusetts was OK, but not one serving New York. That reaction was consistent with the Red Sox-Yankees rivalry, with people in Red Sox-loving<\/a> Rhode Island preferring the electricity be sent to New England instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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