IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - December 2017 - 18
OPINION
Nicholas
Sakellariou
R
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2017.2774878
Date of publication: 5 December 2017
18
Engineers and
Social Acceptance
of Renewable Energy
DORI/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
educing carbon emis-
sions does not nec-
essarily m a k e re -
newable energy (RE)
socially acceptable.
All energy technologies involve envi-
ronmental costs and risks to public
health. For example solar and wind
technologies - which are the main
focus of this piece - have environ-
mental and health impacts such as
land and materials use, biodiversity,
wind blade recycling, and also may
face community opposition. The
notion that RE might empower indi-
viduals and enable environmental
sustainability, but that it can also
generate durable contention, be-
comes apparent in the size and design
of projects themselves.
Indeed, unmet local concerns
may entail costly project delays or
cancellation. Thus strong political
and financial incentives encourage
state authorities and RE developers
to address issues of social accep-
tance. For example, in response
to a sharp decline in wind project
approvals in the U.K. - from 70% in
2008 to 35% in 2012 - the British
government took drastic measures
to ensure that local concerns were
seamlessly incorporated into the RE
planning process. Correspondingly,
intense public concerns are being
expressed with regard to siting large
solar and wind facilities in the south-
western United States.
Attempts by political authori-
ties to realize RE projects despite
low social acceptance (e.g., through
speeding the permitting process)
may only increase - not mitigate-
community opposition. At another
level, some proponents of solar
a nd w ind technologies believe
that the roots of public support
for R E versus resistance by indi-
viduals or local groups to such
projects is explained by people
endorsing RE only as long as facili-
ties are not located "in their back-
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE
yard." Thus, perceived "Not in
My Backyard," attitudes or NIMBY-
ism, can provide a rationale for not
seriously considering social accep-
tance questions such a s the role
t h a t c o m mu n i ties should play
in determining RE project scales,
landscape-technology compatibil-
ity, and mitigation plans. Design
frameworks for RE projects pre-
mised on community participation
and community owne r s h ip m a y
∕
DECEMBER 2017
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