Energy democracy and the governance of large wind energy projects

Keywords: wind farms; participation; local communities; energy democracy
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract

Abstract

Wind energy is now commonly seen as part of the modern landscape. But wind energy can remain controversial due to its disruptive impact on local communities and new developments can sometimes face a considerable level of opposition; the ever-growing size of wind turbines can make them indeed unwelcome technical artefacts far from the original image of well-integrated eco-friendly small-scale wind turbines. Actually, they may be presented as a symbol of energy injustice linked to the exploitation of “unspoilt landscape” by urban dwellers externalising to the countryside the nuisances linked to electricity generation needed to sustain their lifestyle.

This paper deals with the issue of governance and participation of local stakeholders: can a fair process of implementation increases the social acceptability of large wind energy projects? Can energy communities be built exerting effective control on the conditions of implementation of energy projects? Can they even organize themselves to generate and lead energy projects knowing that the investments needed for wind farms are today considerable.

This paper relies on the survey of case studies of wind farms implementation and tries to determine a typology of different level of participation to wind energy projects and what energy democracy means when it comes to the implementation of large-scale projects.