Social Acceptance Interventions (SAI) tool

Within the WENDY project, we have developed a Social Acceptance Interventions Framework and this online tool to present behavioural interventions and other recommendations to enhance social acceptance of wind energy projects. Various studies have employed behavioural insights and interventions to increase social acceptance of renewable energy projects. We conducted a comprehensive review and selected the best practices that have been tested and implemented in wind farm projects and communities across the world.

Key features

• Data-driven decisions: Provides evidence-based recommendations for enhancing social acceptance and project viability.

• Behavioural insights: Leverages insights from social sciences to understand community concerns and improve project design.

• Customizable interventions: Allows users to select targeted strategies based on local context and stakeholder needs.

 

Core components

The SAI tool is a consolidation of best practices, interventions and strategies implemented to enhance acceptance or reduce opposition of wind farms across EU and various other countries (like UK, US, Australia, Brazil, Ethiopia). Based on specific filtering criteria, the tool presents a description of the recommendation, the geographical location (country) of implementation and the reference for further details. The online version is developed in form of a Power BI dashboard/R Shiny App with the following sections:

• Home page – the user is presented with information about the WENDY project, the details about the WP4 (T4.1).

• SAI tool page – the user is presented with brief information about social acceptance, the aims of the tool and instructions for using the tool. The option to download recommendations from the tool can also be provided.

• About page – the user is provided with information about how the tool was developed, the consortium partners involved.

• Contact page – the user is provided with ways to connect with the tool developers (e.g., contact form, email) and the option to provide feedback, suggestions for improvement.

Why use the SAI tool?

• Enhanced community support: Builds trust and transparency through early and continuous engagement.

• Reduced project risk: Minimizes the potential for local opposition and project delays.

• Customizable for diverse communities: Adapts to different cultural, social, and economic contexts.

• Evidence-based decisions: Uses data-driven insights to support sustainable project development.

• Long-term project success: Supports ongoing community relations and positive public perception.

 

 

How it works

The user needs to select relevant options from the three dropdown sections for recommendations and the region/country of implementation to be displayed:

• Impact category (Environmental, Institutional, Landscape, Psychological, Socio-economic, Technical)

• Wind farm type (Onshore, Offshore)

• Factor

  • Bird/bat protection, Marine impacts (marine litter, marine species, seafloor integrity, water quality)

  • Policy, Taxation

  • Deforestation, Noise (annoyance assessment, prevention, impact mitigation), Visual (impact mitigation/ assessment)

  • Community engagement, Informational Strategy

  • Community employment / benefit / engagement

  • WF design, Spatial planning, Visual impact

    

These recommendations are suggested to influence and improve social acceptance of wind energy developments. If the user prefers to read the detailed version of the recommendation, she is required to follow the academic reference URLs.

These recommendations, interventions or best practices are presented in a simple language so as to be understood by different stakeholders. Such stakeholders would include:

• Government (public authorities, local government, policy makers)

• Wind (renewable) energy project developers

• Wind farm operators

• Wind farm owners (investors, shareholders)

• Local community members (residents, associations)

• Environmental sector (NGOs, interest groups)

 

 

Flowchart