Morten Albæk, group senior vice-president of marketing, communications and corporate relations at Vestas, has written an important article that everyone rooting for wind power's success should read. Here are a few key points, bolding added by us for emphasis:
- "Public and politicial support for wind energy is being increasingly eroded by media-savvy and politically influential groups that often demonstrate a brazen disregard for fact-based information. This is a growing business risk."
- To date, the wind industry has not adequately countered this disinformation, or "adequately convey[ed] even the most appealing truths to the public."
- "We only have ourselves to blame. Our sector has been run over by our louder and more aggressive adversaries" and has "shown an inability to play to our key strengths and use our creativity, nimbleness and passionate commitment as a way of cutting through our opponents’ dirty tricks and deceits."
- Why this happened, in Albæk's view, boils down to the wind industry being "complacent, diffuse and unorganised...more conservative, more fearful and more cautious than anything I experienced in banking."
- The solution? Given that the wind industry "will never have as deep pockets as our oil, coal and gas siblings...we need to be much more innovative and aggressive in how we position and promote our industry." That includes "[v]eering off the well-trodden PR path," even if it "entails risks."
Fascinating advice from a key player in the wind industry.