Community Acceptance of Wind Energy: Lessons from a Case Study on a Local Participatory Project in Pays Des Mauges (West France)

IF 1.2 Q3 GEOGRAPHY

European Countryside Pub Date : 2021-12-01 DOI:10.2478/euco-2021-0038

G. Pierre, C. Mazaud

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Abstract

Abstract This article focuses on the community acceptance of wind parks in a rural territory in western France, in a country where they are not much developed yet. We hypothetise that their set-up stems from a specific pattern, embedded in the territorial rural context of the case study. Semi-structured interviews with 30 actors aimed to analyse this citizen-led project, in line with their representations of this territory and its sustainable development. Results show that citizen-led investment is not a prerequisite for community acceptance in this case. The sense of a rural place that is fit for technologies kept up to date by the green industry, and the fairness of the process, are the strongest drivers for acceptance of wind energy, in general, in this case. Subsequently, the confidence obtained from previous fundraising actions can foster new participatory wind projects. An early communication with inhabitants, and a construction fit for a rural development that makes sense to the locals can bring an essential sense of trust for energy projects within the community. However, given the different definitions, it seems also critical to assess their true community dimension in order not to jeopardise the sense of fairness if the outcomes are not largely shared.

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社区对风能的接受:来自法国西部Pays Des Mauges地方参与式项目的案例研究

摘要:本文关注的是法国西部农村地区的社区对风电场的接受程度，在这个国家，风电场还不是很发达。我们假设他们的设置源于一种特定的模式，嵌入在案例研究的地域农村背景中。对30位参与者进行了半结构化访谈，目的是根据他们对该领土及其可持续发展的看法，分析这个由公民主导的项目。结果表明，在这种情况下，公民主导的投资不是社区接受的先决条件。总的来说，在这种情况下，农村地区适合绿色工业最新技术的感觉，以及过程的公平性，是接受风能的最强大驱动力。随后，从以前的筹款行动中获得的信心可以促进新的参与式风能项目。与居民的早期沟通，以及对当地人有意义的适合农村发展的建筑，可以为社区内的能源项目带来基本的信任感。然而，考虑到不同的定义，评估它们真正的社区维度似乎也是至关重要的，以免在结果没有很大程度上共享的情况下危及公平感。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

European Countryside GEOGRAPHY-

CiteScore

2.90

自引率

12.50%

发文量

审稿时长

39 weeks

期刊介绍： European Countryside scope: ecology of rural landscape, rural sociology, demography and gender, multi-functional rural development, agriculture and other branches, rural geography, rural borderland, rural and agro-tourism, rural settlement, small towns as centers of rural micro-regions, rural planning and architecture.