Local perceptions of planned near-shore wind farms in Denmark: on norms, ethics and scale

Danish national public interest for wind power does not necessarily translate into local public interest (Bergek 2010), and so many wind farm projects fail due to local wind farm resistance. Through a unique, large-scale survey with almost 2000 respondents striving to understand local perceptions of/attitudes towards five specific planned near-shore wind-farm sites in Denmark, in this study we get a unique glimpse into local dynamics that co-shape attitudes towards renewable energy technologies.      

One could argue that we are dealing with the utilitarian principle of the greatest good for the greatest number of people (Børsen & Danborg 2015; 87) when siting renewable energy technologies, but as our data suggests the wind farm related grievances experienced by local populations remain very real nonetheless. Ethical dilemmas, issues of different levels of power and questions of individual/local autonomy (ibid.) are at stake. While the moral imperative to ‘act on’ the increasingly accepted realities of climate change is not questioned, I do emphasize the urgent need to explicitly address such dilemmas in policy decisions. Only through concrete insights into the local experiences of such ethical dilemmas may policies target the local practicalities and thus facilitate the transition to sustainability in a more socially just manner.