Abstract: In this talk, Sarah will highlight findings from her recent research examining the disparate community responses to wind energy projects to extrapolate lessons that might apply to the nuclear industry. She'll talk about the importance of procedural justice in the planning process and the dangers of project proponents over-promising and under-delivering. She'll also discuss her research finding that there are some communities where wind energy is likely to be opposed, even when developers do everything right. And she'll discuss how public policy - including tax policy and siting authority - can alter a community's willingness to accept a wind project.

Bio: Sarah Mills is a Senior Project Manager at the Graham Sustainability Institute and at the Ford School's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP). Her Ford School research focuses on how renewable energy development impacts rural communities (positively and negatively) and how state and local policies facilitate or hinder renewable energy deployment. At Graham, she leads a grant from the Michigan Office of Climate and Energy to help communities across the state incorporate energy in their land use planning, zoning, and other policymaking. Sarah has a PhD in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Michigan, an MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development from Cambridge University, and a Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering from Villanova University.