The Electric Grid is Old — Use it to Your Advantage

People care more about investing locally in new energy technology when they’re reminded how old the electric grid is. In Shearwater Strategies focus groups, participants consistently say that communities with modern infrastructure attract economic opportunities while those without modern infrastructure are at a disadvantage. So, when they hear that most of the grid is over 50 years old and some places are investing in improvements, they naturally grasp the need for upgrades in their own area. If you can credibly frame your technology as the new modern standard, people begin to draw their own conclusions about what their area might lose without your projects.

Messages like “electricity could become scarce” or “employers might not invest here” can sound like threats coming from industry advocates (threats pretty much never work) – but when you put people in a position to make those connections themselves, their support for local investment in new energy technology grows.

Modernization is not a specific enough message to push a project or policy across the finish line, but it breaks inertia, opens the door to helpful conversations about innovation, and resonates across most geographic regions.

Shearwater Strategies uses custom audience research to help clean energy and climate technology firms understand what their key audiences really think – and turn those insights into strategies that resonate, like describing new technology in ways that make people want it in their communities.
This week we’ve shared insights on environmental perceptions, affordability, and technology. You can find earlier posts on our page or on our website. If deeper audience insight would improve your strategy, we’d love to connect.

Who excels at framing new technology? I always admire Katherine Hamilton, Isaac Brown, and the 38 North team—anyone who has heard Katherine describe thermal batteries knows what I mean. Tim Biba and the Solebury Strategic Communications team are really insightful in this area as well.

Do you see people thinking about climate technology and renewable energy projects as expensive and unnecessary rather than core infrastructure for a modern grid?