ABSTRACT

MADELEINE MANYOKY, ULRIKE WISSEN HAYEK, KURT HEUTSCHI, RETO PIEREN, AND ADRIENNE GRÊT-REGAMEY

4.1 INTRODUCTION

Planning of new renewable energy installations in the landscape is a complicated matter in Switzerland and all over Europe. Although the public generally supports the renewable energy deployment, the implementation of new installations often fails when it comes to choosing appropriate locations, especially regarding wind farm locations on the local level [1,2]. Cowell [3] points out the “split between the technical and the social” as a key problem: the technical potential is taken as basis for national wind power targets in a top-down approach (e.g., [4]), lacking the public’s judgment about the acceptability in particular places. According to recent studies, however, social acceptance is a key issue for successful wind energy market development [5,6]. Furthermore, stakeholders state that there are no suitable instruments to support social acceptance [7].