Social Acceptance of Wind Energy

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1 Social Acceptance of Wind Energy Katrina Polaski Head of Department Low Carbon Technologies Martin McCarthy REIO IWEC, March 2010

2 Outline Defining Social Acceptance Key acceptance topics International approach Improving Acceptance - past, current and future activities IEA Wind Task 28 Note: Some of the images which follow were taken from anti-wind web-sites or the media.

3 An introduction to the concept of Social Acceptance Social acceptance of energy projects not a new issue Nuclear, LNG, power lines, pipe lines and dams Social acceptance of RE somewhat neglected in the past two decade following early surveys showing high general support for the technology Contradiction between general support for RE and difficulty to realise individual projects Three-dimensional conceptualisation of social acceptance : Socio-political, community, and market acceptance.

4 Dimensions of Social Acceptance* Community acceptance Procedural justice Distributional justice Trust Market acceptance Consumers Investors Intra-firm Socio-political acceptance Of technologies & policies By the public By key stakeholders By policy makers *Wustenhagen, Wolsink, Burer Energy Policy Volume 35, Issue 5, May 2007

5 Community acceptance Large variations in global/national and national/local implementation rates which are not explained by access to wind resource Some argue the reason is the not in my back-yard default But NIMBYism is an over-simplification of the issue Evidence exact opposite is the case as indicated by u-curve of acceptance Internationally, planning decisions by the relevant authority are accepted Underrated challenge perhaps because it is non-technical and not an engineer s area of expertise: deficit model the norm.

6 Wolsink s U-curve of acceptance Pre-siting Siting & construction Post construction Phase

7 N.I.M.B.Y.ism debunked Clouds the real discussion Can not assume a high general popularity of a technology is a precursor to acceptance of a specific project labelled nimbyism Who is the developer or investor? Is it an outsider or member of the community? Is the community invited to participate in a substantial way? Does the community have significant influence on the process? Is there a perception that the outcome of consultation is pre-determined? Who makes the decisions about community involvement? Perception of unfair outcomes leads to protest and division.

8 N.I.M.B.Y.ism debunked Research often focuses on objectors and only tells a one sided story Landscape strongly linked to identity and sense of place Stigmatised areas more likely to welcome green technology Research may be coloured by respondents desires to be seen to be supportive of ethically positive development and desire to not be labelled a nimby.

9 Wind Turbine Syndrome by Dr. Nina Pierpont Infrasonic, ultrasonic and vibration causes at least 12 different symptoms including: Irregular heart beats Sleep disturbance Headache Tinnitus Nausea Vertigo Blurred vision Panic attacks and General irritability Leading to abandonment of Acoustically toxic homes Fact or fiction?

10 Impact on property values The Impact of Wind Projects on Residential Property Values in the US Berkeley National Laboratory, December 2009 Study Funded by U.S. Department of Energy Collected data on 7,500 house sales within 16km of 24 wind farms in 9 states Conclusions: Possibility individual or small numbers of homes impacted No widespread statistically observable impact The view of or the distance to the wind site has no measurable, consistent, significant effect on sale prices.

11 Summary of topics for community acceptance Trust created slowly, destroyed rapidly Property values Well being Wind turbine syndrome, Noise, Nuisance etc. Landscape changes and visual impact Associated grid construction Distributional justice sharing the burden and benefits Procedural justice fair processes Environmental, birds, bats, bogs Perception of subsidisation of big business at consumers expense. All positions can be argued and countered information overload!

12 Socio-political Acceptance National policy and decision makers appear to be supportive Disjoint becomes apparent at local level Local authority attitudes are inconsistent Local representatives will support local opposition rather than outside developer Planners office may not be resourced to assess application fully on merits DoEHLG Guidelines not rigid Acceptance that RES-E must be facilitated by grid development is absent politically Spirit of Ireland Communicated with public before other key stakeholders Public buy-in secured Substantial communication with authorities followed public acceptance.

13 International examples of increasing acceptance USA Wind on the Wires Pro RES-E transmission environmental group Local leader facilitates discussion Population anti grid if seen to be for coal Denmark Legislated compensation for affected community Developer does not know level of compensation before construction Compensation linked to impact on property values Strong reaction from industry Some countries use much greater community involvement, community shared ownership and co-operative approach compared to Ireland Denmark, Netherlands, Germany

14 Past activities Attitudes Towards the Development of Wind Farms in Ireland. SEAI, 2003 To Catch the Wind, Community Ownership of Wind Farm Projects, Renewable Energy Partnership, SEAI funded, 2004 The Monaghan Model Best Practice in Community Consultation, 2005 Currently being used for the Belmullet Ocean Energy Test Site Planning Guidelines for Local Authorities on Wind Energy Development, 2006 Visitor Survey Wind Farms, Fáilte Ireland, 2008 Best Practice Guidelines for the Irish Wind Energy Industry, IWEA, 2008 Various SEAI events for planners and local authorities An Taisce s Bi-annual magazine, Spring 09: Energy-The future for Ireland

15 To Catch the Wind The Potential for Community Ownership of Wind Farms in Ireland SEAI funded study, 2004 Review of international models of community wind Describes mechanisms for community entry in to wind farming Describes financing and legal considerations Provides guidance on planning and process Provides financial model Conclusions Very difficult environment for 100% community ownership Access to risk capital impossible More promising option is to invest in projects in somewhat advanced stage of development.

16 Selection of research ongoing in Ireland Bríd Walsh, NUIG supported by EPA Strive Participatory Governance: A socially sustainable approach to wind energy development based on effective and inclusive decision-making applicable to Ireland. bridwalsh21@yahoo.com Breffní Lennon, Research Scholarship, Dept. of Geography, UCC Wind energy. Public perceptions, landscape and planning breffnilennon@gmail.com

17 Attitudes to small wind turbines Research carried out by Marius Claudy, DIT Energy Lab 66% of public aware of micro wind turbines 47% of people have a positive attitude towards micro wind (29% negative and 24% Neutral) Potential Adopter - 8% Indifferent - 44% Rejecter - 48% Sample: 1012 home owners

18 IEA Wind Task 28: Social Acceptance of Wind Energy Projects Winning Hearts and Minds Created as a result of 54 th Topical Expert Meeting First non-technical research Task undertaken Ireland, Canada, USA, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Norway, Japan, Finland, Denmark

19 Background to IEA Wind IEA Wind Implementing Agreement facilitates co-operation in the development of new and improved wind energy technologies Tasks or Annexes focus on discrete topics Each IEA member country nominates the internal agency with responsibility for participation e.g. SEAI The relevant agency decides which Tasks to become participant in and what form that participation might take Only Tasks with relevance to Ireland are joined with the aim of benefiting from collaborative research activities.

20 Task 28 - Objectives Establish international forum for exchange of knowledge and experiences State of the art Literary review, State-of-the-art report, online library 2010 Best practice Analysis of case studies, compare strategies, models, social marketing, translation, report 2011 Dissemination Establish strategies and communication activities Guidelines for planners, international conference for developers, authorities, and all stakeholders.

21 Activities within the Task Definition of Social Acceptance What is it and why is it needed? National Wind Energy Concepts National incentive programs Spatial planning Distributional Justice Burden sharing Compensation for land use Compensation for impacts Procedural Design Communication strategy Step-by-step procedure Local participation Social design process Siting Instruments Visual impact Photomontage Communication campaigns Public consultation Stakeholders Utilities Banks NGO Well-being Quality of life Standard of living Health

22 Forthcoming invitation to tender under Task 28 Proposals to be sought from suitably qualified individuals and/or organisations to develop a robust methodology leading to best practice in promoting social acceptance of wind energy projects and the associated infrastructure in Ireland under the general headings of: Spatial Planning; Distributional Justice; Procedural Design; Instruments; And/Or Well Being. Participation in IEA Wind Task 28 working group will be expected. SEAI will also continue to host national and regional events aimed at local authority officials and representatives As well as deliver publications and information specifically for planners.

23 At whom will the best practice methodology be aimed? Policy makers, government departments and agencies; Local authority officials, planners and consultant planners; Wind energy developers and representative groups; Electricity network designers and operators; Community wind energy groups; Resident associations; Sociologists; Fellow Task members and the wider IEA Wind Implementing Agreement signatories; Relevant NGO; And Interested parties involved in large infrastructure projects in other sectors.

24 Upcoming events Social Acceptance of Wind Energy Projects EWEC, Warsaw April 20 23: side event 09:00 12:00 Wednesday April 21 st Speakers from Japan, Germany, Denmark Main EWEC, 14:00 Tuesday April 20 th Strategies to increase social acceptance European Model for RE Markets Development Seminar at the Energy Show, RDS 10:00 am April 15 th

25 Final thoughts No national anti-wind group active in Ireland yet? Barrage of claim and counter claim, information and misinformation white noise to the public s ears leading to default of objection Deficit model does not work You can not change attitudes with information alone How can we show you that we are right? Communication is a two-way conversation Investment models need to be considered which allow communities to buy-in to a project in their area or at least feel a sense of ownership Is it fair that community led projects be subject to same GPA as everyone else?

26 Thank you Free Energy Show Seminar: European Model for RE Market Development Thursday April 15 th, RDS Minerva Room