Overcoming Barriers to the Community Acceptance of Wind Energy: Lessons Learnt from a Comparative Analysis of Best Practice Cases across Europe

Pouyan Maleki-Dizaji, Nicoletta del Bufalo, Maria-Rosaria Di Nucci and Michael Krug
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Pouyan Maleki-Dizaji: ECORYS Research & Consulting, Calle del Marques de la Ensenada 16, Centro Colon 1018, 28004 Madrid, Spain
Nicoletta del Bufalo: ECORYS Research & Consulting, Calle del Marques de la Ensenada 16, Centro Colon 1018, 28004 Madrid, Spain
Maria-Rosaria Di Nucci: Environmental Policy Research Centre, Freie Universität Berlin, D-14185 Berlin, Germany
Michael Krug: Environmental Policy Research Centre, Freie Universität Berlin, D-14185 Berlin, Germany

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: Empirical evidence has shown that local community opposition is one of the key obstacles for new wind energy development. Consequently, the community acceptance of renewables, such as wind energy, has become a crux for Europe in both achieving and going beyond its renewable energy targets. Significant academic literature has already been devoted to conceptualising the community acceptance of wind energy. This article builds on the existing research by showcasing how regions and municipalities across Europe have successfully and effectively been able to overcome barriers to community acceptance. In doing so, 10 best practice case studies across six European countries have been carefully identified and investigated. The results of individual assessment of these different cases, each of which employ different types of measures/approaches, are comparatively analysed in order to identify the key success factors (drivers) for achieving community acceptance of wind energy in Europe. The identification of the success factors serves to start paving the way for the transfer of these measures/approaches to other municipalities and regions across Europe, particularly those who may encounter similar barriers of community acceptance of wind energy. Thus, our findings deliver to policy makers and developers a number of lessons learnt on how to organise future actions by proposing ways their activities can enhance community acceptance.

Keywords: wind energy; social acceptance; best practices; knowledge transfer; lessons for policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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