A critical discussion of research on the social acceptance of renewable energy generation and associated infrastructures and an agenda for the future

Social sciences’ research on the social acceptance of renewable energy generation and associated technologies (RET), such as high voltage power lines, has been growing in the last decades. In fact, while RET are considered one of the main mitigation measures of climate change, opposition to their construction, and namely from the local communities living nearby, is often found. Important conceptual proposals have been made for a better understanding of opposition, however, this literature still presents some limitations. Here, I will discuss two of them: first, the main focus on the local and, with it, the lack of a relational and critical approach, which recognizes opposition and other types of responses to RET as public participation in RET-related issues; second, the focus on the individual and the consequent lack of examining people’s material practices and engagements.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Research on the social acceptance of renewable energy technologies: past, present and future

Social sciences have been very prolific in the last decades in publishing research that attempts to better understand the social acceptance of renewable energy technologies and associated infrastructures (RET) – such as high voltage power lines – and processes – such as communities’ participation in related decision-making processes. This Perspective proposes that this might be a good point in time, roughly 30 years after social sciences begun looking at the social side of RET, to offer a (over)view on that research, if and how it has changed over time and where it leaves us currently or, in other words, which directions we should follow in the future. I first provide an overview of research on the social acceptance of RET, suggesting that it can be roughly organized around three waves - normative, criticism and critical -; for then identifying and discussing some avenues for future research.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Politicizing hydroelectric power plants in Portugal: Spatio-temporal injustices and psychosocial impacts of renewable energy colonialism in the Global North

The extent to which infrastructures being deployed for a postcarbon transition can be considered sustainable has been increasingly scrutinized within the critical turn in energy justice research. However, the focus therein tends to be on how new megaprojects still reveal Global North–Global South colonial relations and energy-related injustices. In this paper, we aim to contribute to widening critical energy justice research by illustrating how it needs to also consider the spatio-temporalities of renewable energy colonialism in the Global North. To that end, we undertake a psychosocial historiography of selected large-scale hydroelectric power plants in Portugal, from the twentieth century to the present day. This historiography is undertaken via archival data and interviews. Our analysis illustrates how hydrocolonialism has been enacted–discursively, infrastructurally, and psychosocially–in rural areas in Portugal, across different socio-political regimes; and also how it can be contested, by identifying some examples of resistance.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Time, history and meaning-making in research on people's relations with renewable energy technologies (RETs) – A conceptual proposal

The research field of the social acceptance of renewable energy technologies (RETs) has shown that people as central actors in current low-carbon energy transitions relate to RET projects and associated processes and infrastructures in diverse ways. These relations depend on the local context and history in which RET projects are deployed. Despite being an everyday reality for all actors involved, the experience of time has not been of central concern for this research field. References to temporality in social acceptance work are both omni-present and frequently vague, used as a mere backdrop to the main story; most research has examined local residents' responses at a specific moment in a project's life cycle; some consider RET projects as independent from histories of infrastructure and place and people's relations with RETs as void of past experience. This paper advocates for a deeper engagement with time in the field. Based on a milestone literature review highlighting how time and history have been tackled in analyzing local residents' relations with RET projects in specific case contexts so far, we propose differentiating physical from historical time dynamics and by developing this distinction we offer a first conceptual framework for considering time in people's relations with RET projects. Through this, our proposal contributes to recent critical work in social acceptance research of RETs and provides analytical tools for researchers who intend to approach the temporal embeddedness of people's relations to RET projects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Ecological crisis, sustainability and social worlds: developing a critical agenda

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A critical framework to develop human-centric positive energy districts: Towards justice, inclusion, and well-being

Positive Energy Districts (PEDs) are a new energy initiative from European member states. They are, simply put, local districts which produce more energy than they consume. PEDs are expected to adopt a more human-centric perspective in order to create more liveable and sustainable urban neighbourhoods. However, as previous research on energy transitions has demonstrated, the mainstream approach and technocratic tradition of research and policy vis-à-vis energy transitions could result in the perpetuation of social inequalities, energy injustices, and the passive participation of citizens also within PEDs. Hence, it is crucial in these early days of PEDs to discuss what a human-centric approach should entail and how it should be enacted. Based on a narrative literature review of critical social sciences' energy research (and specifically from social and environmental psychology), this paper will propose a critical framework containing five key dimensions which are relevant for creating more just and inclusive PEDs. These are: uncertainty, risk perception and trust; distributive justice; recognition justice and people-place relations; procedural justice; and, routines, capabilities and lived experiences. To that end, it will also discuss the different implications of mainstream and critical approaches in energy research and social sciences in relation to the deployment of human-centric PEDs. The review concludes that in order to successfully deploy human-centric PEDs, a critical approach is needed and presents some concrete recommendations for future research and policy in order to adopt such an approach. These include: considering justice, inclusion and the well-being of affected socio-ecological systems in the whole-life cycle of PEDs; better integration of indigenous capabilities; and, an ethos of de-growth and circularity in their deployment.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Populism, identities and responses to energy infrastructures at different scales in the United Kingdom: a post-Brexit reflection

Recent socio-political events - such as Brexit - have provoked discussion and uncertainties about the future of the European Union, including European sustainable energy transitions. Nevertheless, not much research in the energy and social science domain has discussed and empirically explored how these socio-political events and related processes - rise in right-wing populism, post-truth politics - are shaped by and impact public beliefs about energy issues and the role of changes in people's different-level identities (local, national, European). In this paper, we discuss the importance of further exploring these ideas in energy social science research. We examine results of the Eurobarometer survey in the time span 2007-2016, and of two different representative surveys of United Kingdom adults, conducted in 2007 and 2012. This data allowed us to explore similarities and differences during this period regarding attitudes and beliefs about high voltage power lines and other energy and climate change related issues at different levels, and associated identities. Results suggest that feelings of belonging to different imaginary communities play out socio-political and psychological intergroup relations. We conclude that the ways that these impact on people's responses regarding energy issues at local, national and European levels represent promising directions for future research.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Explaining public preferences for high voltage pylon designs: an empirical study of perceived fit in a rural landscape

In many countries, electricity transmission networks are being upgraded and developed arising from policies aiming to decarbonise energy systems. However, new power lines are often controversial, due to their perceived negative impacts on rural landscapes. Despite the fact that visual impacts are an important element of public objections, to date, little research has analysed public preferences for alternative pylon designs, as well as investigating the social and psychological factors that might explain such preferences. This paper sought to address this gap, informed by research on public acceptance of renewable energy technologies, using a survey conducted with a representative sample of UK adults (n = 1519). The findings indicate that the 'T-pylon' design, winner of a recent competition, was most strongly preferred and the one most perceived to fit with a rural landscape, by comparison to the conventional 'A frame' design and a 'Totem' design shortlisted in the competition. Linear regression analyses indicated three factors that explained perceived fit, regardless of the designs: lower levels of educational attainment, positive general attitudes towards transmission lines and higher levels of trust in National Grid were associated with positive perceptions of fit of the pylons in a rural landscape. Finally, findings concerning public support for diverse mitigation measures indicated that the use of alternative designs was less supported than burying new powerlines underground and routing pylons away from homes and schools. The implications of these results for more sustainable grid networks are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

My neighbourhood, my country or my planet? The influence of multiple place attachments and climate change concern on social acceptance of energy infrastructure

Research on place attachments and identities has made an important contribution to understanding social acceptance of low carbon infrastructure, which are often objected to by local communities. However, a focus on local attachments predominates in studies to date, neglecting the potential role of national and global attachments and identities on energy beliefs and attitudes, despite the fact that large energy infrastructures are not only local in significance or function. To investigate this, survey data was collected from a representative sample of UK adults (N = 1519), capturing place attachments at local, national and global levels, climate change concern, beliefs about power lines and support for energy system change. Findings show significant differences in infrastructure beliefs and attitudes depending upon relative strength of attachments at different levels, controlling for personal characteristics. Analyses of variance revealed that individuals with stronger national than local or global attachments were less likely to support European grid integration; those with relatively stronger global attachment were most likely to support decentralised energy and those with relatively stronger local attachment were most likely to protest against a nearby power line. In addition, those with strong attachments at local, national and global levels were most willing to reduce energy demand, and those with weak attachments were least likely to trust grid companies. Relatively stronger global than national attachment was positively associated with support for decentralised energy, with this effect partially mediated by climate change concern. Explanations for the findings and implications for future research are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio