Good neighbours for a better energy mix. HE INFLUENCE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ON COMMUNITY ACCEPTANCE OF WIND FARMS

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2018-08-28
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en
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Community acceptance of wind farms is required to facilitate further wind power developments in the future. Previous research has shown that community engagement during a wind power project fosters community acceptance of wind farms. However, community engagement cannot in all cases guarantee community acceptance. Therefore, this thesis aims to illustrate the influence of community engagement levels on the community acceptance of wind farms, while accounting for the intermediating effect of the various wind power project phases. A process model of community engagement levels leading to community acceptance is constructed, which integrates both stakeholder theory and project management theory. This process model showcases the influence of each community engagement level on the community acceptance of a wind farm during each project phase. This thesis uses a qualitative research design, whereby Vattenfall serves as the single case that is investigated in order to illustrate the process model within the wind energy business. In addition, a mixed method of both grounded theory and a transdisciplinary approach is applied to support the making of a veracious and relevant theory corresponding closely to the data in its context. The findings show that all five community engagement levels positively influence the community acceptance of wind farms and can be conceptualized as complementary. Furthermore, the phase in which a specific community engagement level is conducted, intermediates the strength of its influence on community acceptance. The implications of these findings is that the integration of community engagement into project management would be beneficial for renewable energy developers in their project management in order to achieve community acceptance. Further research is recommended to assess the different policy implications of community engagement during wind power projects. In addition, there is a need for quantitative research to replicate the process model of community engagement levels leading to community acceptance across a larger set of cases and tested through quantitative surveys.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen
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