Three years of experience within the working group and supporting institutions of IEA Wind Task 28 on social acceptance of wind energy have shown international exchange on social acceptance issues to be exceptionally valuable for those engaged in the work of the Task 28.
The development of wind energy – more specifically, the debates surrounding projects in the field - have also shown that social acceptance is a topic that needs to be better understood if the various policy targets for renewable energy production are to be accomplished. To achieve long-term acceptance of wind power, the topic requires further attention and examination, e.g. in terms of “quantification” or “monitoring”, by efforts such as Task 28 with their interdisciplinary and trans-national approach.
The work of Task 28 should therefore be continued in 2012 and following years on the basis of the topics identified as crucial to social acceptance, the international exchange within IEA Wind and dialogue with the various stakeholders.
The main areas of the future work of Task 28 proposed for the next period can be summarized as follows:
- Measurement and monitoring of social acceptance
- Documentation of existing policies and standards that have been demonstrated to increase social acceptance
- Discussion of current and new issues influencing social acceptance that are being debated in the participating countries, stressing of research gaps and discovering of opportunities for joint research
- Deduction, documentation, and dissemination of the lessons learned, good practices, successful strategies etc. with the aim of improving projects and their implementation and to support the definition of the common understanding of “sustainable, acceptable projects”
- The role of “neutral intermediaries” and the question of a “guichet unique” for developers or public authorities.
The work packages and the time frame are illustrated in the following graph:
The value of IEA Wind Task 28 IEA Wind Task 28 will will support participating countries by
- Providing up to date information on social acceptance of wind energy in each of the participating countries including the reporting of social acceptance trends in individual countries where possible
- Identifying and documenting successful policy strategies anticipated to be applicable across contexts
- Enabling sharing of practical information, learning from each other, complementing each other’s approaches, exchange of successful strategies
- Discussion of the complex issues around social acceptance and gaining additional insights from the broad trans-national and interdisciplinary experience of Task 28
- Working together on open issues and research gaps each country cannot achieve on its own as well as discovering opportunities for joint research
- Enlarging the network and knowledge on good practice of institutions, organizations, experts and practitioners
- Providing reports, publications and presentations in the language of planners, developers, authorities and other stakeholders outside the research community who need to be sensitized on the issue to develop good projects.
