Iberdrola, a national leader in developing green energy solutions, enlisted Consensus Inc. to build community support to earn city and county approvals for the Dillon Wind Energy Project in California’s Coachella Valley. Iberdrola proposed to construct 45 wind turbines on three adjacent sites near the City of Desert Hot Springs under the jurisdiction of the County of Riverside and the City of Palm Springs.
Consensus Inc. identified a core group of community supporters, mobilizing them to express their support at public hearings, and a broad group of stakeholders who demonstrated support to decision makers and policy-making bodies by completing support cards, sending letters and e-mails, and providing audio recordings of support. A Riverside County Planning Commissioner commented this was the first time they had ever had a wind energy project come before them that had demonstrated community support. The award-winning outreach program was commended by the Palm Springs Planning Commission, Riverside County Planning Commission and Riverside County Board of Supervisors and received votes of approval from all three decision-making bodies.
