Work Package 4

Case studies of public engagement with renewable energy technologies

The objective of this work package was to identify how the public perceive and respond to specific models of the public and methods of engagement with RET, as well as to appraise the provisional framework designed in the previous work package. The main focus was case-studies of renewable energy developments. Development case-studies encompassed a range of RET including different forms of biomass developments (e.g. incineration, combustion and anaerobic digestion), urban and offshore wind farms and ocean RET, using an interdisciplinary conceptual and multi-methodological approach (technical assessment, focus groups, structured interviews and questionnaire surveys).

8 case studies were undertaken, covering 10 different energy projects, drawing from primary and secondary data sources, to ensure adequate coverage of diverse technologies, spatial contexts and forms of public engagement. Selection of the case studies were informed by the literature review process, project partners, feedback from the advisory panel and the quality and availability of corroborated data. Case-studies targeted high-profile renewable energy developments or initiatives, for example projects of sufficient scale to be widely accepted as altering the landscape/seascape in which they are sited. Therefore, the case studies did not target single dwelling domestic-scale solar thermal systems or solar PV.

Summary reports for each of our case studies are available to download from the Deliverables page.