Abstract
In land-use planning, how developers engage with local residents is a crucial element in shaping public acceptance of large-scale renewable energy projects (Devine-Wright 2011). This chapter compares two UK offshore wind energy projects (Lincs and Gwynt y Mor) that were associated with contrasting levels of public acceptance. Data from in-depth interviews with key stakeholders were analysed to investigate how mechanisms and strategies of community engagement were constructed and practiced. These reveal the contrasting ways that development organisations with weak local ties seek to embed themselves in places affected by development proposals, through the strategic use of intermediaries and the provision of community benefits. In the Lincs case, which had low levels of public objection, the developer employed an intermediary early in the consultation process who can be characterised as playing a locally-based, education-oriented, ‘info-mediary’ (Fischer and Guy 2009) role. By contrast, in the Gwynt y Mor case that was associated with high levels of public objection, the developer employed an intermediary following the consultation process who can be characterised as playing a regionally based, passive, ‘PR’, representative role.
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© 2012 Patrick Devine-Wright
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Devine-Wright, P. (2012). Fostering Public Engagement in Wind Energy Development: The Role of Intermediaries and Community Benefits. In: Szarka, J., Cowell, R., Ellis, G., Strachan, P.A., Warren, C. (eds) Learning from Wind Power. Energy, Climate and the Environment Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137265272_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137265272_10
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