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Title: Reconsidering barriers to wind power projects: community engagement, developer transparency and place

Journal Article · · Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning
 [1];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Univ. of Delaware, Newark, DE (United States). College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment
  2. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
  3. Portland State Univ., Portland, OR (United States). Survey Research Lab
  4. Martin Luther Univ. of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Germany). Inst. of Psychology; Medical School Hamburg (MSH) Univ. of Applied Sciences and Medical Univ., Hamburg (Germany). Dept. of Psychology
  5. Martin Luther Univ. of Halle-Wittenberg, Halle (Germany). Inst. of Psychology
+ Show Author Affiliations

In 2016, we undertook a nationally representative wind power perceptions survey of individuals living within 8 km of over 600 projects in the United States, generating 1705 telephone, web, and mail responses. We sought information on a variety of topics, including procedural fairness and its relationship to project attitude, the foci of the present analysis. Here, we present a series of descriptive statistics and regression results, emphasizing those residents who were aware of their local project prior to construction. Sample weighting is employed to account for stratification and non-response. We find that a developer being open and transparent, a community being able to influence the outcome, and having a say in the planning process are all statistically significant predictors of a process perceived as being ‘fair,’ with an open and transparent developer having the largest effect. We also find developer transparency and ability to influence outcomes to have statistically significant relationships to a more positive attitude, with those findings holding when aesthetics, landscape, and wind turbine sound considerations are controlled for. The results indicate that jurisdictions might consider developing procedures, which ensure citizens are consulted and heard, and benchmarks or best practices for developer interaction with communities and citizens.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Wind Energy Technologies Office
Contributing Organization:
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Portland State Univ., OR (United States)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1454498
Journal Information:
Journal of Environmental Policy and Planning, Vol. 20, Issue 3; Related Information: © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.; ISSN 1523-908X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Cited By (6)

A strong relative preference for wind turbines in the United States among those who live near them journal March 2019
Public perceptions of and responses to new energy technologies journal May 2019
A continuously updated, geospatially rectified database of utility-scale wind turbines in the United States journal January 2020
International experiences with opposition to wind energy siting decisions: lessons for environmental and social appraisal journal June 2018
The politics of energy landscapes: the influence of local anti-wind initiatives on state policies in Saxony, Germany journal January 2020
The politics of energy landscapes: the influence of local anti-wind initiatives on state policies in Saxony, Germany text January 2020

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Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
17 WIND ENERGY
Wind power
fair process
public attitudes
transparency
public perceptions