KAOH media

08/20/2026

Before we think about what to say, we spend time understanding what a community is already hearing.

That can mean reviewing local news coverage, public meeting agendas, land-use information, community organizations, and the questions already surfacing around growth and development.

These details help shape better communications decisions.

Who needs information first? Which questions require clearer answers? Where are people getting their information? And which local conversations could affect how a project is understood?

For our team, that work often starts right here: at a desk, with a lot of tabs open and a notebook filling quickly.

Good engagement begins with learning the local landscape.

08/17/2026

Unanswered questions can become project risks.

A recent Route Fifty article examines 46 proposed AI data center projects that were publicly delayed or cancelled after community opposition. Across the cases reviewed, uncertainty about ownership, power demand, water use and closed-door decision-making repeatedly contributed to local concern.

For development teams, the practical lesson begins well before a public hearing.

Communities should be able to understand:

• Who is developing and operating the project

• What local resources the facility will require

• How potential impacts will be addressed

• How community benefits and project commitments will be measured

Early communication gives residents, officials and other stakeholders a factual foundation for evaluating a proposal. It also gives developers time to identify legitimate concerns, adjust their approach and build a stronger permitting strategy.

Transparency should be planned alongside site selection, engineering and financing. Waiting until opposition has organized sharply limits the available options.

Read the article:

A lack of transparency around ownership, power and water requirements was cited as the most common issue in 46 cancelled projects across a two-year period in 20 states.

08/12/2026

Good community engagement starts before the first presentation, public meeting or campaign message.

It starts with paying attention.

On a recent treks through public parks and national forests, members of our team took these photos as a reminder that every place communicates something about its priorities: how land is used, where people gather, what infrastructure is visible and what residents may want to preserve.

These observations aren't a replacement for research or direct conversation, nor are they intended to be. They help teams ask the right questions when those conversations do happen.

For developers working in unfamiliar communities, local context should shape the engagement strategy from the start. Clear communication is more effective when it reflects how a community already understands its landscape, economy and future.

Listen closely, learn early and communicate with precision.

06/18/2026

Every major component in the solar supply chain can be produced on U.S. soil. This is a huge milestone for America’s energy independence, and a talking point that will prove critical for local decision makers to understand.

The ability to make more solar components here in the U.S. matters. But domestic supply chains only translate into domestic energy capacity when projects can move through the permitting-to-approval lifecycle with local trust intact.

Every solar project, transmission line, storage facility, and supporting infrastructure asset enters a real place with real concerns: land use, viewsheds, agriculture, wildlife, tax base, public services, and long-term community identity. Permitting is where national energy goals meet local decision-making.

06/11/2026

Responsible land use starts with recognizing that every project enters a place already shaped by people, wildlife, and history. When communities are engaged early and local environments are understood with care, development has a better chance to support both human progress and the landscapes that make each place worth protecting.

When she’s not designing graphics and websites, KAOH’s Mackenzie Scanlontakes her eye to the wildlife that makes her home state of Florida special. Check out some of her recent photos!

06/09/2026

Canary Media’s reporting on solar myths and potato farms points to a larger issue across complex land use projects: misinformation rarely stays contained. It moves through social channels, public meetings, neighbor-to-neighbor conversations, and elected officials’ inboxes long before a project team has a chance to respond.

By the time a false claim becomes part of the local conversation, the burden shifts. Developers are no longer simply explaining the project. They are working against fear, repetition, and the perception that silence meant the rumor was true.

That is why community engagement cannot wait until opposition is organized.

If you’re tired of being one step behind the misinformation, reach out to us at https://bit.ly/41PXstR.

https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/solar/attack-solar-myths-potato-farms

Misinformation about renewable energy fuels local pushback to proposed energy installations and could threaten farmers’ livelihoods.

05/11/2026

At the 2026 US Power & Data Center Forum, there was no shortage of discussion around load growth, siting pressure, transmission constraints, and the speed at which power demand is reshaping the development landscape. But just as important were the side conversations with other attendees - developers, operators, advisors, and stakeholders all working through similar challenges.

Our week attending the conference was filled with great conversations about what it takes to move projects forward. Thanks to all who stopped by our booth and took the time to chat with us!

05/07/2026

Note: unity is a permitting strategy.

05/05/2026

When it comes to renewable energy development, it turns out there’s a cost to not doing business.

New research out of Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) found that Indiana counties with restrictions on wind and solar projects experienced an aggregate net GDP loss of $204 million, while their neighbors gained a net of $13 million.

If the promise of win-win outcomes were enough to guarantee a social license to operate, we wouldn’t see so many projects facing vocal, organized opposition. What makes the difference is earning a community’s trust – building it starts with listening to residents’ perspectives in earnest.

By Dr. Michael J. Hicks— MUNCIE, IN— A new policy brief from Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) examines how county-level restrictions on utility-scale wind and solar development in Indiana are associated with employment, gross domestic product, and local ...

05/01/2026

Engineering models can’t account for all areas of project risk.

When risk builds in the form of county meetings that fill up early, local reporters that start asking sharper questions, or elected officials who begin looking for room to retreat, projects hang in the balance.

This risk isn’t incidental. In complex land use issues, trust affects schedule certainty, financing confidence, and the entire permitting-to-approval lifecycle. A viable project can still lose momentum because the social license to operate was never sought with the same attention-to-detail as the requirements to build. Engineering models can’t account for all areas of project risk.