VVMplus – Addressing local opposition to new renewable energy installations through improved practice of EIA

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Project Motivation

In spite of the general support for renewable energies, there is lack of local acceptance of concrete plants. This is a key barrier for the transition to an electricity system based on renewable energies.

In Denmark, local opposition is mostly to wind power and biogas plants. Nevertheless, opposition to solar energy is increasing and other technologies, e.g. energy storages, could meet resistance in the future too. Abroad other renewable energy technologies such as hydropower and coastal wave energy also have to deal with local opposition.

Knowledge of public acceptance is fragmented in Denmark. Individual R&D projects focus on specific technologies (e.g. “Wind2050” and “Konstruktiv Borgerinddragelse”) and there is not a comprehensive overview of local opposition across renewable energies or of the direct cause of the resistance.

Local perception of renewable energy projects is influenced by the environmental impact assessment (EIA). In Denmark, the EIA process is the main arena for dialogue between project developers, local authorities and local citizens.

Social impacts appear to be a key factor to achieve local acceptance and the EIA can and should include them. Often included social consequences are general considerations on negative local impacts, but they are not analysed in depth, quantified or mitigated.

In other countries, such as Canada and Australia, the social impact assessment is a completely different proactively tool for dialogue between citizens, developers and authority on how projects are implemented in a manner that is acceptable to the public. Here positive impacts and opportunities for local communities are well explained, whereas in Denmark they are implicit, ignored or excluded from the agenda –even though they may be important for local acceptance.