Elsevier

Energy Policy

Volume 35, Issue 5, May 2007, Pages 2683-2691
Energy Policy

Social acceptance of renewable energy innovation: An introduction to the concept

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2006.12.001Get rights and content

Abstract

This paper introduces the special issue on Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy Innovation. It is a collection of best papers presented at an international research conference held in Tramelan (Switzerland) in February 2006. While there are ambitious government targets to increase the share of renewable energy in many countries, it is increasingly recognized that social acceptance may be a constraining factor in achieving this target. This is particularly apparent in the case of wind energy, which has become a subject of contested debates in several countries largely due to its visual impact on landscapes. This paper introduces three dimensions of social acceptance, namely socio-political, community and market acceptance. Factors influencing socio-political and community acceptance are increasingly recognized as being important for understanding the apparent contradictions between general public support for renewable energy innovation and the difficult realization of specific projects. The third dimension, market acceptance, has received less attention so far and provides opportunities for further research, particularly from management scholars.

Keywords

Social acceptance
Wind energy
Diffusion of innovation

Cited by (0)

View Abstract