Conceptualizing the acceptance of wind and solar electricity
By Benjamin Sovacool, Pushkala Lakshmi Ratan. 2012
255 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Drawing from research interviews and the academic literature, this article conceptualizes the conditions that promote investor confidence and the social acceptance of wind and solar sources of electricity. It explores the factors influencing the acceptance of commercial wind turbines in Denmark and India and residential solar panels in Germany and the United States. The article begins by justifying its selection of case studies and explaining the methodology behind its research interviews and field visits. It then summarizes some of the key findings in recent surveys of public attitudes and market acceptance concerning renewable energy, with a focus on why some investors and communities reject wind and solar systems whereas others rapidly approve and adopt them. The article proposes that acceptance has multiple dimensions – socio-political, community, and market – that must be met holistically in order for investors and users to embrace renewable energy. The article argues that acceptance hinges upon the prevalence of nine factors; the lack of such factors creates environments where they are rejected. The theory is tested against four case studies that explore the forces driving renewable energy in Denmark, Germany, India, and the United States.
Subfields: Global and Planetary Change, Pollution, Sociology and Political Science
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/3408c70eb5e0acf3bbac63a0b2aa69ff1f830173
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In Global and Planetary Change
In Sociology and Political Science
Citations in the corpus
- Ordering theories: Typologies and conceptual frameworks for sociotechnical change (2017, unknown): “Sometimes this is referred to as ‘diffusion’, ‘social acceptance’, ‘market acceptance’, ‘technological transition’, ‘community acceptance’, or ‘commercial acceptance’ (Sovacool and Ratan, 2012; Wuestenhagen et al., 2007).”
- Local Governments Supporting Local Energy Initiatives: Lessons from the Best Practices of Saerbeck (Germany) and Lochem (The Netherlands) (2015, background): “A sense of community ownership is crucial for the success of community initiatives [41], for it delivers a positive public attitude [53], public support [54–56], it fosters social acceptance (or facilitates coping with opposition) [19,38,57–60], and enhances motivation [56].”