Stakeholder Engagement Planning and Management for an Offshore Wind Development, US

An international consortium of Shell and EDPR engaged Acorn International to map and build the engagement program needed to successfully develop one of the first offshore wind (OSW) energy production programs in the US. Sited offshore Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, the 800MW development enjoyed the favor of environmental NGOs but simultaneously faced challenges in gaining support from various other interest groups, including fishermen, local governments and Indigenous People.

Given Acorn International’s extensive history in helping Shell manage “non-technical” (social, environmental and reputational) risks on developments worldwide, the consortium asked our team to start by identifying and assessing non-technical risks that could impact the project’s viability and to identify long lead-time actions needed to mitigate those risks. We then helped the consortium with stakeholder mapping, grievance mechanisms, engagement plan development/implementation, workforce and affected community capacity building needs assessment. With community engagement specialists and active as civic leaders in the Massachusetts “South Coast” region, we helped the consortium build key relationships as well as foundational engagement needed to nourish and grow those relationships to help ensure the success of this critical project for the US OSW industry.