The Mayor says so: Impact of local political figures and social norms on local responses to wind energy projects

Wind energy plays an important role for the energy transition. The technologies have become increasingly cost-competitive and policies are in place to move from fossil fuels to renewables. However, many wind energy projects result in conflicts on the local level. It is essential to gain a better understanding of the drivers and dynamics behind these. Local authorities such as politicians and city council members are key actors who can play a moderating, escalating or mediating role in conflicts around wind energy. Additionally, social norms of the community outline what a wind energy project should or ought to be like. Alongside public expectations, these norms indicate the layers to cultural dynamics and standards of a community. Wind energy projects, in this sense, carry potential for accumulating capital and are therefore a key source for distributing power. The German Energiewende was long a role model for other countries. However, the German wind industry is currently not only facing permitting, legislation and auction-based issues, but also the acceptability of wind energy is getting more difficult. With its multi-layered development schemes, high wind power potential and complex social dimensions, Germany serves as a reference point to examine the local dynamics of wind energy development. German federal states set their own guidelines and requirements to regulate wind energy siting. One regulatory path to overcome acceptance problems is to determine requirements for proximity from residential areas. As an example, after the implementation of the 10H regulation in Bavaria, the number of new constructions decreased significantly. With the wind turbines reaching overall heights of 200 to 250 metres, this can increase the conflicts about proximity to residential areas. Therefore, Bavarian municipalities have to consider further regulations and concerns about project siting. This study investigates the impact of the assessment of mayors on attitudes, perspectives and norms of the communities concerning wind energy projects. The objective of this study is to find out which factors played a role in the outcomes of the project, how important were the opinions of the local political figures and what other factors played a role in these case studies. It was also important to find out what role social norms are playing and the beliefs about the opinion of others. As an empirical-qualitative study, we compare the experiences from four cases in Bavaria, Germany and highlight the significant role of mayors. In these case studies, the processes and conflicts are analysed with techniques including document analysis and in-depth interviews. We expect our study to have implications for policymakers and practitioners in designing and planning a wind energy project by emphasising the socio-cultural context.