This project would have powered over a million homes and made a huge dent in New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions. It is not happening now because of a group of NIMBY activists and the Environment Court’s ruling.

This is a huge blow, in itself, to renewable and wind energy proponents, but it also brings concerns for future wind energy projects.

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California plan facing ‘NIABY’ foes (Not In Anyone’s Back Yard)

[UPDATE: I have added a list of the environmental groups that oppose Superlink below] A project being developed by San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Stirling Energy is facing opposition from some environmentalists because the plan also calls for a 150-mile, high-voltage transmission line that would pass through 23 miles of Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, a spot known for its hiking trails, wildflowers, palm groves, cacti and spectacular mountain views.

The proposed Sunrise Powerlink would carry energy produced from several wind, solar, and geothermal installations from the California’s Imperial Valley to San Diego. The entire route would be about 150 miles long with 554 towers from end to end. (But with a cheery name like Sunrise Powerlink, how could anyone oppose it?)

While federal and state officials put the brakes on new coal-fired power plants and as investors back out of others, the demand for more renewable energy will only grow stronger. And as it turns out, the spots with the best renewable resources also have the harshest and often least habitable climates - dry, hot, windy, barren, etc. - so the electricity then needs to be transmitted to areas where people have settled (i.e. cities). And that is where some problems are surfacing.

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While the green elements of the design may not have endeared the plan to the neighbors, the objections seem less about the fact the house was incorporating green technologies and more about just the appearance being out of character with the rest of the neighborhood. In this particular case, the house in question is a rather attractive, contemporary, modular home. It includes such green features as "solar panels, recycled materials and a living ‘green’ roof." But, it is more likely that the resistance against this house was based on its general appearance, rather than specifically wanting to prevent a house from having the green features that its owners wanted.

NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) attitudes have been around for decades. It applies to everything from opposing commercial expansion to constraining the appearance of a neighbor’s house. Concern about anything new is bound to arise. There will never be a situation where new construction is not going to be objected to by someone.

While some technologies for developing greener buildings are neutral to the building’s appearance, other elements are tied to the building’s form. Green buildings do not have to look "weird" in order to be efficient, their appearance often responds to a wider range of factors. Elements such as adding more insulation to a home to increase its efficiency will work well for any given building. Very few people will look closely enough to tell whether the glass in your windows is an uninsulated single pane or triple-pane, Low-E glass. But some features are going to respond to external requirements and site conditions. Passive solar buildings need to have windows along the south elevation. They don’t need to have the entire south wall covered with windows (that would lead to overheating in almost every circumstance). Solar panels are going to be at their most efficient when they are placed at the appropriate sun angle for a location’s latitude. Designs that incorporate passive cooling methods may have projections through the roof for solar chimneys.

In the case of the Breezehouse in Marin, the local board ultimately voted unanimously to permit the construction of the house. Limiting the appearance of houses is an issue that goes beyond green building. It applies to neighborhoods that have covenants with all manner of restrictions. Tract builders promote developments with covenants and restrictions that impose limits on the materials that may or may not be used in constructing a house. But these restrictions are increasingly coming into conflict with green values. Clotheslines are prohibited in some communities by these deed restrictions. Alternative power systems such as wind and solar are going to come into conflict with neighbors who find them unsightly. Designers can take some steps with the appearance of green elements. But greater familiarity with the new features of the greenscape of the 21st century is going to require a greater understanding and acceptance of the range of features that our homes and buildings are going to have.

 Image source: Michelle Kaufman Designs