IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - 53
caution should be taken in how public acceptability is
assessed, for example, whether it refers to people merely
not resisting the project that is already there (e.g., because
the damage is done and resisting is pointless) or actively
supporting the project and thinking positively about it
(see the broad definition of public acceptability previously
mentioned). in a study in the united Kingdom, 97 participants reported that they accept high-voltage power lines
but that they do not support them (Figure 2). a sustainable energy transition can only realize its full potential
when people accept and properly use the related energy
sources, infrastructure. and technology; make the necessary behavioral changes (e.g., match their energy use to
the supply of renewable energy, reduce energy use, etc.);
and accept the related policies. such a broad spectrum
of changes is more likely when people strongly support
energy projects, rather than when they only passively tolerate them.
One Size Fits all
Misperceptions about the public acceptability of energy
projects can lead to thinking that there are one-size-fits-all
solutions that can "fix" the lack of public support in many
projects and among different people. however, localities
where energy projects are to be sited can have distinct settlements, community structures, and meanings associated with
them. consequently, the same energy project can be seen
as a disturbing development in one place and as enhancing
the community in another. For example, placing large-scale
energy infrastructure in rural or coastal areas without such
facilities typically leads to social conflict, as communities
attempt to protect local landscapes from unwanted "industrialization." siting such infrastructure in already-developed
locations may be the solution but can bring other difficulties by overburdening certain communities with multiple
forms of infrastructure (e.g., transportation and waste). it is
essential to take the unique characteristics of local places
and their meanings to local people into account in the development and implementation of energy projects. Next, there
is no one-size-fits-all solution because people often differ
in how they perceive and evaluate energy projects and what
they find acceptable, as we discuss next.
People Don't Agree on What Is
Acceptable and What Is Not
looking only at the energy projects themselves does not fully
explain public acceptability, as there are often disagreements
among people on whether, and how, certain energy projects
should be implemented. Moreover, there is usually no consensus among the public about what is acceptable and what
is not. it is, therefore, crucial to take individual factors into
account as well to better understand public acceptability of
energy projects.
Values define what people find important in their lives in
general (see also steg et al. in this issue). energy projects have
january/february 2018
implications for four types of values: biospheric (protecting
nature and the environment), altruistic (safeguarding the wellbeing of others), egoistic (safeguarding personal resources
such as wealth and status), and hedonic (seeking pleasure and
comfort). People differ in how they prioritize these values
and how acceptable they find different energy projects. People accept energy projects that, they think, support their core
values, whereas they do not accept energy projects that, they
think, threaten their core values. For example, research shows
that the stronger their biospheric values, the more acceptable
people find renewable energy sources and the less acceptable
they find nuclear energy. by contrast, the stronger their egoistic values, the more acceptable they find nuclear energy and
the less acceptable they find renewable energy sources. this is
probably because people with strong biospheric values are concerned about possible environmental risks of nuclear energy
(e.g., nuclear accidents and radioactive waste), while people
with strong egoistic values are concerned about possible individual costs of renewable energy sources (e.g., financial costs
and intermittency of energy supply).
People pay particular attention to information about energy
projects most important for their core values. this could
explain why information strategies may not always have the
desired effects. For example, information about certain benefits
of energy projects will most likely be attended to by people
who value these benefits and already support the project (i.e.,
preaching to the converted). conversely, people who do not
value these benefits as much and/or are primarily concerned
about other project consequences may disregard this information. Furthermore, people tend to evaluate many different characteristics of energy projects overly positively or negatively,
depending on whether these projects support or threaten their
values, respectively. as a result, people may give multiple arguments against (or in favor of) a project that supports their initial
value-based position but, at the same time, are not very important to them in light of their values. addressing such post-hoc
arguments by providing information or even by changing the
project will probably have little impact on public acceptability. to develop effective strategies that target the root causes of
Not Support
Support
Total
Not Accept
151
1
152
Accept
97
337
434
Total
248
338
586
figure 2. The frequency of participants accepting and/or
supporting high-voltage power lines at a general level in the
United Kingdom. (Adapted from S. Batel, P. Devine-Wright,
and T. Tangeland, "Social acceptance of low carbon energy
and associated infrastructures: A critical discussion," Energy
Policy, vol. 58, 1-5, 2013.)
ieee power & energy magazine
53
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018
Contents
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Intro
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Cover1
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Cover2
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - Contents
IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - January/February 2018 - 2
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