CASE STUDY
NextEra
With each passing year, America understands more and more of the potential environmental consequences of energy production and the need to aggressively pursue clean energy solutions. Large corporations and energy producers must take a leadership role in this pursuit. NextEra understands this responsibility. One of the premier clean energy leaders in North America, generating approximately 21,000 megawatts of net generating capacity across 36 states and in Canada, NextEra Energy Recourses, LLC. routinely pursues projects that have a tangible benefit on the surrounding community. Case in point: In 2019, NextEra partnered with the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) and PSEG Long Island to transform an old landfill and turn it into a solar park. It was called the Kings Park Solar Project, and when NextEra needed a creative communications firm to get the word out about this vital project, it turned to ZE Creative Communications.
- Brought together regional energy experts to educate the media and the public on the importance of new energy projects.
- Positioned NextEra as a leader in the space for future project bids.
- Full ribbon-cutting and media panel for the opening of the Kings Park Solar Project.
AN AMBITIOUS PROJECT FOR A GREEN FUTURE
The 4-megawatt facility located at the former landfill is owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources and provides renewable energy to LIPA customers under a 20-year power purchase agreement. The project features more than 18,000 photovoltaic solar panels covering the site of the former Kings Park landfill, which closed in 1979. Given the scope of this amazing project, ZECC. wanted to put together an event that would underscore to the media and the community the importance of the Kings Park Solar Project, its impressive benefits to the environment, and the legitimacy of the underlying science. We started to plant the seeds for a large-scale press conference, one that would make a point to experts in the field front and center. After all, the Kings Park Solar Project was a complicated, ambitious project; the public wants to hear from trusted scientists and engineers.
BRINGING TOGETHER THE EXPERTS
To that point, ZECC organized a roster of the area’s leading environmental influencers, including Adrienne Esposito, the executive director of citizens campaign for the environment; Giordan Raacke, the executive director of Renewable Long Island; Tom Falcone, CEO of LIPA; and Paul Napoli, the vice president of PSEGLI and Robert Trotta, supervisor of the Town of Smithtown and a Suffolk Legislator. The respected experts speaking at the Kings Park Solar Project press conference gave the project instant gravitas and built a foundation of trust among all constituents. Once the speakers were selected, we wrote media materials, prepared remarks for speakers and organized photographers so all logistics were situated and accounted for. We had staffers welcome people and sign in guests to ensure that the run of show went as smoothly as possible. Additionally, ZECC secured media coverage in local and regional news outlets to emphasize the importance of the project and the breadth of success that NextEra offers to enhance their positioning when bidding for other energy project contracts in the region.