What makes local energy projects acceptable? Probing the connection between ownership structures and community acceptance
Abstract
Community ownership of wind energy has been found to increase acceptance, but the reasons for this are poorly understood. Here, we compare different communities’ attitudes towards local onshore wind energy projects in order to gain a deeper understanding of the characteristics of ownership which are conducive to community acceptance. Using a postal survey in Scotland (n = 318), we compared three communities with varying degrees of ownership regarding their (1) support for the local wind project; (2) perceptions of energy justice; (3) perceived impacts; and (4) ownership and benefit preferences. One-way ANOVAs and the Potential for Conflict Index2 identified that residents in the two communities with a degree of ownership were more associated with greater acceptance, processes, and outcomes (i.e. more just and inclusive development processes and more fairly distributed benefits and impacts), than residents living near the privately-owned development. Additionally, we provide evidence that a co-operative can achieve similar acceptance and energy justice as a fully community-owned project. Overall, the results indicate that policymakers should take seriously the connection between the tenets of energy justice and ownership models in their policy and planning efforts.
Citation
Hogan , J , Warren , C R , Simpson , M & McCauley , D 2022 , ' What makes local energy projects acceptable? Probing the connection between ownership structures and community acceptance ' , Energy Policy , vol. 171 , 113257 . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2022.113257
Publication
Energy Policy
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0301-4215Type
Journal article
Description
Funding: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (752-2019-0520), Rothermere Foundation, Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund, University of St Andrews.Collections
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