Graduate students from the MIT Renewable Energy Facility Siting Clinic are hoping to hear from as many Barnstable community members as possible regarding their views about offshore wind power. Clinic staff will summarize what they hear, without mentioning anyone by name, to contribute to a genuine community conversation. The goal is to understand the full spectrum of perspectives in Barnstable—and based on those diverse views in the community, to suggest to the Town what a more inclusive planning process could look like.

 

The MIT Renewable Energy Clinic’s approach is a non-partisan effort.  The Clinic does not advocate for or against any project.

 

While the clinic has a formal letter of engagement with the Town of Barnstable, the Clinic works in service of the whole community to:

  • Conduct a comprehensive stakeholder assessment (i.e. understanding the range of views that exist in Barnstable).
  • Reach out to stakeholder groups that have not previously participated in town-wide discussions.
  • Establish face-to-face channels for community members to engage with the Clinic (such as the Zoom session).
  • Help stakeholders jointly explore rules the town could impose on offshore wind project developers.
  • Potentially explore prospects of collaborative problem-solving sessions that might lead to community consensus-building about how to handle infrastructure projects in the future.

 

The Clinic recognizes there are diverse views about offshore wind power being developed near Barnstable’s seven villages. The MIT researchers are eager to hear how local residents define what a meaningful public engagement process should include.

 

The Clinic is piloting “drop in” Zoom sessions for individual community members to share their ideas related to offshore wind directly with the Clinic staff.

 

When: Every Friday afternoon from 2:00-3:00 PM

Format: 15-minute individual sessions

Registration: Visit https://bit.ly/MITfridaychat to sign up for a time slot

Eligibility: Open to all Barnstable community members and stakeholders (18+)

Confidentiality: Conversations with the MIT team will remain confidential. Comments will be anonymized in a final report, unless explicit permission is granted.

 

The MIT Renewable Energy Clinic is a public service center in MIT’s Department of Urban Studies and Planning. The team receives no financial compensation of any kind and has no political interest in the outcome of any proposed project.

Contact mit.reclinic.barnstable@mit.edu for more information.