‘When the wind comes right behind the’ … sales pitch: alternative views to wind energy development in a rural Oklahoma host community

Abstract

Wind energy development has expanded across the prairie of northwest Oklahoma over the past 17 years. Several factors contributed to the success of wind energy in the state including a volatile economy history spurring a need to diversify the energy-based economy, ideal wind power potential, and state and host community support fueled by a rural benefit narrative. Starting in the early 2000s, the state and rural oil and gas communities familiar with the hardships of volatile fuel markets embraced wind projects as a means to strengthen their local economies and ameliorate rural disadvantages. Literature on the impacts and perceptions of wind energy benefits for host communities, however, remains divided, and little is known about realistic effects and perceptions in the context of a pre-existing energy culture and economy. The overarching objective of this thesis is to better understand the local-level impacts and perceptions of wind energy development using a case study of the rural, host community of Woodward, Oklahoma, where oil and gas ties run deep compared renewable energy. Stakeholder interviews, follow-up research including additional interviews and published material, and field observations offer a narrative of local experiences that are at odds with rural benefit narratives. The most notable aspect of the findings of this study is the overall negative or doubtful perceptions of local wind energy development, with interviewees citing that economic benefits have not materialized for them as anticipated. The study reveals perceptions and expectations are multidimensional in nature, informed by place-based experiences relating to pre-existing energy culture, tax issues, distributional fairness, and familiarity with wind industry practices. Results show concerns about tax issues to be strong indicator of negative perceptions toward the wind industry, with interviewees not opposed to wind energy, in general, but to post-construction wind industry behavior and perceived unfairness of the outcomes. Results of this thesis have implications for future state and local policies to renegotiate terms of renewable energy investment, specifically to hold the wind industry more accountable for social, economic, and environmental impacts of their projects. Themes uncovered here also provide evidence that investigating perceptions and impacts of wind energy in the context of pre-existing energy culture have much to offer researchers.