The Groundwire Group

Thank you Chris Whitehead and Perpectives on Sustainable Development for inviting our Founder (and podcast enthusiast) Abby L. Watson on your most recent episode. What do carbon taxes, transmission planning and homeownership have to do with a just transition? Listen to this engaging discussion between Chris, Abby and Prof. Raphael Heffron to find out about all of that, and what continues to give us hope. #EnergyJustice #ClimateTransition #Justice40 #JustTransition #CarbonTax #TransmissionPlanning

We're #hiring! We are looking for a senior consultant to help us create the stories and strategies driving the clean energy transition. This candidate will have a passion for sustainability, the ability to think strategically and creatively to help solve our clients’ most challenging problems, and be a clear and engaging storyteller. Apply today or share this post with your network.

Excellent article covering a robust discussion about rethinking the approach to #offshorewind procurements at Oceantic Network's #IPF2024 last week. Groundwire President, Abby L. Watson: “Developers are hugely incentivized to take big risks and big gambles in securing these procurement awards because that’s the way that our process tends to be — expect the developer to take on a lot of that risk and they’re competing on the lowest price with a very limited amount of information about their lease areas,” Watson said. “We have to find a way to do this better if we want to attract those domestic manufacturing jobs and the supply chain piece,” she added, “also making good on our commitments to the people who have gone through workforce programs expecting to have jobs on a certain timeline that now we’re looking at pushing those timelines out.” 

And, #IPF2024 is done and dusted. What an incredible four days in New Orleans. Thank you to the friends and colleagues who helped us celebrate the launch of The Groundwire Group and to Oceantic Network for bringing the entire #offshorewind community together to share and learn from each other. We all received an important reminder this week that doing big things is hard. It should be no surprise that there will be bumps in the road, but we can choose how to respond. We could just give up, or we can pivot, learn and improve. The stakes for the climate are too high to walk away. After many discussions focused on creative ways to deal with challenges around procurement, permitting, supply chain, public perception and more, we know the industry can do the big things, and build a more sustainable future!  

The Groundwire Group’s Abby L. Watson, President, and Raquel Pichardo, Chief Communications Strategist, will be speaking at Oceantic Network's #IPF2024 in New Orleans next week.    Abby's panel, "How Recent Offshore Rebids Can Inform Future Project Financing", will discuss how future offtake agreements can better respond to changing market conditions and changing public perceptions of #offshorewind.    Raquel's panel, “Facts and Tools for Countering Disinformation: Whales and Wind as a Case Study,” will provide practical approaches for dealing with mis- and dis-information around the impact of offshore wind activities and whales.   Catch them both on Thursday April 25! How Recent Offshore Rebids Can Inform Future Project Financing: 2:00-3:00  Facts and Tools for Countering Disinformation: 3:15-4:15    https://lnkd.in/gpVS7ebk

Big news! We are excited to announce that Groundwire Strategies and Pichardo Clean Energy Communications have combined to launch The Groundwire Group, a boutique strategic consulting firm focused on creating a more sustainable future. We partner with leading organizations in climate solutions to help them navigate a complex landscape by connecting their strategies to the broader systems in which they operate. Founders Abby L. Watson and Raquel Pichardo, both sustainability and climate veterans, are excited to bring their depth of experience together to help clients build the stories and strategies that will shape our clean energy future. We offer strategic planning, communications advice and execution, strategy and team building workshops and coalition building. If you’re working toward creating a more sustainable future – whether through renewable development, policy, sustainable investing, climate technology, or more – we’d love to hear from you. Learn more about The Groundwire Group: www.groundwiregroup.com

So pleased to have our founder featured on this panel! #ipf2024

At Groundwire Strategies, we like to think deeply about big things. Why is an action happening? What are its drivers? How do policymakers, community leaders, and individuals feel about what is going on around them and how does that affect their behavior? These are all questions #systemsthinking forces us to consider – the context questions. You’ll see in our report that we use an iceberg image to help us decode situations. It’s only by asking questions and going deep below the surface of the iceberg that we begin to understand all the seemingly unrelated – yet intertwined – elements that make up our clean energy system. Our first annual #renewableenergy trends report is designed to help you think outside the immediate influences and consider the externalities. What does it mean if we have increasingly frequent and intense droughts? How do unemployment trends trickle through the financial system to impact projects? Can we engage more effectively with a public that has become more distrustful and fractured? Insights on these questions, and many more, in #MacroMeetsMicro2024 Get your free copy here: https://lnkd.in/eesNRpQn

Our new report, “Macro Meets Micro: Deciphering Renewable Energy Trends in 2024,” explores three themes that will influence how the clean energy transition unfolds. At first glance, they may seem unrelated: Water and Commerce, Interest Rates and Unemployment, and Trust and Verification. But all have a common thread linking to clean energy policy and public perception. Water and Commerce: Drought conditions in the Panama Canal are contributing to a slowdown in global shipping. This could lead to higher costs for renewable energy developers. Interest Rates and Unemployment: In a time of rising interest rates, and rising inflation, consumers will be particularly sensitive to the perception that using renewable energy will increase their utility bills. How do developers and policymakers respond to these concerns? Trust and Verification: Our access to true, non-biased information is being dampened in an age of deepfakes and misinformation. The onus is on developers to build trust with the communities in which they operate, and on policymakers to create transparency and accountability of the systems that allow renewable projects to succeed. This report explores the many layers of context that form the clean energy system. Full report here: https://lnkd.in/eesNRpQn #MacroMeetsMicro2024 #MacroMeetsMicro

Groundwire is proud to present its inaugural trends report, “Macro Meets Micro: Deciphering Renewable Energy Trends in 2024.” What do the Federal Reserve, the Panama Canal and election interference have to do with renewable energy development? More than you realize. This report uses a systems-thinking approach to make sense of the complex and seemingly unrelated connections that form today’s energy landscape. Understanding the ‘why’ behind these connections can empower clean energy leaders to drive a more successful clean energy transition. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/eesNRpQn #MacroMeetsMicro2024 #MacroMeetsMicro #CleanEnergy #SystemsThinking #OffshoreWind #RenewableEnergy #CleanEnergy #ClimateAction #ClimatePolicy