Community Acceptance of Renewable Energy Plants: The Role of Nature Conservation in the Concert of Acceptance Factors

For the success of the energy transition, it is of central importance that the expansion of renewable energies is supported and accepted by the population. Wind turbines, ground-mounted photovoltaic systems or biogas plants require space and have an impact on habitats and landscapes. As a result, questions of nature and environmental compatibility are increasingly being put forward as arguments against the expansion of renewables. In our paper we provide selected findings of an interdisciplinary research project (AcceptEE), funded by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, running from May 2017 until May 2019. We ask about the factors that promote acceptance of local renewable energy plants and the specific role of nature conservation in the concert of other acceptance factors. Further question addressed by our research include: To what extent are nature conservation rationales instrumentalised by opponents to hide other rationales? How can trade-offs between climate protection, nature conservation, protection of local residents and local value creation be resolved and how can the expansion in the use of renewable energy be re-aligned with nature conservation? To answer these questions, municipal and regional political leaders, representatives from regional planning and permitting authorities, nature conservation authorities, land owners, project developers and plant operators, citizens' initiatives opposing wind energy and nature and environmental protection associations have been interviewed in three different municipalities. In addition, personal interviews and an online survey with a total number of 160 local residents have been carried out. Our study showed that nature conservation has definitively a role to play, but other acceptance factors are closely linked or more important. The overall attitude towards the energy transition, the perceived plausibility and coherence of energy policy goals, strategies and measures at the various political and administrative levels have an influence on the local acceptance of renewable energy plants. Another central aspect of local acceptance is trust. The bias, role and interest conflicts of political-administrative decision-makers can have a negative impact on their credibility and trustworthiness and the local acceptance of renewable energy expansion. Embedding the expansion of renewables locally in an integrated regional or municipal energy or climate protection concept can help to promote acceptance and harmonize renewable energy expansion with nature conservation.