PNNL

Abstract

Stakeholder involvement can include many activities, from providing information on a website to one-on-one conversations with people confronting an issue in their community. For carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) a major tool of SI to date has been the survey. Recent surveys and other research into stakeholder involvement focused on the nascent commercial deployment of CCS technologies have provided valuable information about the state of general knowledge and attitudes toward these technologies. Most importantly, these research efforts reveal that the general public has relatively little knowledge about CCS. Given this lack of knowledge with respect to the concept of CCS let alone first-hand experiential knowledge derived from seeing these technologies deployed in local communities this paper critiques the methodology and results of the survey research. Then the framing of SI in CCS is examined, including the assumption that clear stakeholder acceptance is a realistic goal and that the public has a decisive say in choosing the energy technologies of the present and the future. Finally, a broader suite of SI activities is recommended as more suited to realistic and contextual goals.