Issue: Wind

From our July 2025 study with The Alliance for Climate Transition (ACT), we found that residents in the US Northeast have little familiarity with Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), but are intrigued by the technology when it is framed around improved electricity reliability and lower utility bills. However, those perceptions are endangered by concerns that BESS may endanger their homes or entail high upfront installation costs.

What lies beneath concerns about offshore wind projects and whale endangerment? How can organizing programs build empathy and persuade? And could it be that civic engagement is the answer to ALL of our ills? Recently we published a report that attempts to address some of these questions.

Harmony Labs and partners set out to map Energy Transition Materials (ETM) narratives, in 9 nations and 3 domains, and experiment with communications that build support for a just energy transition.